FROM   THE  LIBRARY  OF 
REV.   LOUIS    FITZGERALD    BENSON,  D.  D. 

BEQUEATHED   BY   HIM  TO 

THE   LIBRARY  OF 

PRINCETON  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY 


sets 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2012  with  funding  from 

Princeton  Theological  Seminary  Library 


http://archive.org/details/pdoddridgeOOstou 


,c9  ^  « 


A  CENTENARY  MEMORIAL-. 


ft 


S ',  $  Jiiin«'»  CLl !,  (UL  W,  ^JL™.yu 


AUTHOR        OF         "SPIRITUAL         HE  HOES,"         ETC, 


BOSTON: 

d?nnl&    atti    Tinrnln 

.VJ     WASHINGTON    STREET. 


^Sn  of  Nr«^. 

SEP  S3  1931 

PH  [LIP  D0DDMD8fes«wt«ni^ 


HIS   LIFE  AND   LABORS. 


CENTENARY    MEMORIAL. 


• 


BY 


JOHN    STOUGHTON, 

AUTHOR    OF     "SPIRITUAL    HEROES,"     ETC. 
WITH 

AN    INTRODUCTORY    CHAPTER 
BY  JAMES   G.  MIALL, 

FROM   THE    "FOOTSTKPS    OF   OUR    FOREFATHERS." 


BOSTON: 

GOULD    AND    LINCOLN, 

59      WASHINGTON      STREET. 

1853. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1S52,  by 

GOULD    &    LINCOLN, 
In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  Massachusetts. 


CONTENTS 


-♦-»-•- 


PAGE 

Advertisement 5 

American  Publishers'  Advertisement 8 

Introductory  Chapter 9 

INTRODUCTION. 

Dissent  in  the  Reign  of  William  III 19 

CHAPTER    I. 

Doddridge's  Early  Days 41 

OHAPTEK    II. 

Preparatory  Scenes  and  Studies 51 


IV  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER    III. 

PAGE 

His  Public  Career  : 

The  Minister 76 

The  Tutor , S3 

The  Author 107 

The  Man  of  Influence 130 


CHAPTER    IV. 
His  Social  Retirement 139 

CHAPTER    V. 
His  Spiritual  Life 151 

CHAPTER    VI. 
His  Last  Days 163 

CHAPTER   VII. 
Result  of  his  Labors 1*12 

POSTSCRIPT. 
The  Three  Colleges 191 


ADVERTISEMENT. 

It  was  resolved,  that  at  the  autumnal  meeting 
of  the  Congregational  Union  of  England  and 
"Wales,  held  this  year,  in  the  month  of  October, 
at  Northampton,  there  should  be  a  tribute  of 
respect  paid  to  the  memory  of  Dr.  Doddridge, 
with  whose  name  the  place  is  so  intimately  as- 
sociated. The  fact  of  the  meeting  being  held 
there,  just  a  century  after  his  death,  gave  addi- 
tional interest  to  the  arrangement.  The  author, 
several  months  before  the  meeting,  received  a  re- 
quest from  the  Committee  to  prepare  the  Memo- 
rial : — an  honorable  task,  which,  though  he  felt 
himself  unworthy  to  fulfil,  he  the  more  willingly 
attempted,  because  there  had  previously  been  a 
purpose  in  his  mind  to  write  something  in  rela- 
tion to  Doddridge,  as  a  sequel  to  the  book  on 
"  Spiritual  Heroes." 

The  acceptance  which  the  Memorial  met  with 
from  the  meeting  equally  delighted  and  surprised 
the  writer ; — but,  on  reviewing  the  work  for  the 
press,  he  is  more  than  ever  convinced,  that  the 
effect  produced  was  mainly  to  be  ascribed  to  its 
being  presented  in  the  place  where  Doddridge 


VI  ADVERTISEMENT. 

labored,  from  the  pulpit  in  which  he  preached, 
and  to  persons  sitting  in  the  very  pews  once  oc- 
cupied bjr  the  congregation  of  that  eminent  man. 
The  silent  voice  of  the  genius  loci  was  more  effec- 
tive than  what  fell  in  audible  tones  from  the 
author's  lips.  On  this  account  he  fears  that 
some  who  now  read  the  book  will  feel  disap- 
pointment. But  the  publication  is  in  accordance 
with  the  request  of  the  meeting ;  and  it  is  now 
sent  forth  from  the  press,  with  the  earnest  hope 
that  it  may  be  the  means  of  inspiring  in  some 
cases, — of  reviving  in  others, — that  beautiful, 
earnest,  and  practical  piety  of  which  Doddridge 
was  such  an  illustrious  example. 

Having  been  favored  with  the  use  of  unpub- 
lished letters  and  documents,  the  author  hopes  he 
has  succeeded  in  obtaining  some  few  original  illus- 
trations of  Doddridge's  life  and  history,  in  addi- 
tion to  those  already  so  largely  supplied  in  his  Me- 
moirs and  published  Correspondence.  To  Joshua 
Wilson,  and  Charles  Reed,  Esqs.,  he  is  so  largely 
indebted  in  this  respect,  that  he  cannot  but 
make  grateful  mention  of  their  names ;  he  would 
with  pleasure  particularly  allude  to  others,  but 
for  the  fear  of  too  far  extending  the  present 
Advertisement. 

Much  appears  in  the  body  of  the  work  not 
read  at  Northampton  for  want  of  time  ;  where, 
for  the  same  reason,  the  Introduction  was  en- 
tirely omitted.     Some  account,    compiled   from 


ADVERTISEMENT.  Vll 

the  original  records  of  the  three  collegiate  insti- 
tutions, recently  united,  is  now  subjoined  as  an 
appropriate  Postscript ;  because  one  was  a  con- 
tinuation of  that  which  Doddridge  established 
at  Xorthampton ;  and  another,  through  the  early 
history  of  a  Society  which  supported  it,  stands 
connected  with  his  name.  The  Postscript  is  the 
more  appropriate,  as  Xew  College,  erected  in 
consequence  of  that  union,  was  opened  the  very 
month  distinguished  by  the  centenary  commem- 
oration of  the  celebrated  theological  Professor  to 
whose  memory  these  pages  are  intended  to  do 
honor.  Being  restricted  to  historical  notices  of 
such  of  the  old  academies  as  are  associated  with 
the  name  of  Doddridge,  the  author  has  been  pre- 
vented from  tracing  the  rise  and  progress  of  other 
Colleges  in  different  parts  of  the  country  ;  but  he 
would  take  this  opportunity  of  saying,  that  their 
prosperity  he  hails  with  joy,  and  for  their  con- 
tinued progress  he  devoutly  prays.  For  ven- 
turing to  include  in  this  volume  so  much  correla- 
tive matter,  he  is  gratified  that  he  can  plead  the 
authority  of  his  respected  friend  and  predeces- 
sor, Mr.  Conder,  who,  in  his  Memorial  of  ATatts, 
has  so  gracefully  introduced  the  rise  and  pro- 
gress of  English  Psalmody. 


AMERICAN    EDITION. 


PUBLISHERS'  ADVERTISEMENT.  ' 

The  Publishers  do  not  feel  that  an  apology  is 
required,  for  inserting  as  a  suitable  introduction 
to  this  interesting  volume,  an  extract  from  Mr. 
Mi  all's  late  work,  in  which  allusions  are  made  to 
the  character  and  services  of  Dr.  Doddridge. 
Mr.  Miall's  work  has  reference  to  the  struggles 
of  the  Nonconformists  of  England  for  the  bless- 
ings of  religious  liberty,  and  his  allusions  take 
therefore  that  direction.  They  furnish,  however, 
so  just  a  view  of  the  character  of  Dr.  Doddridge, 
and  references  so  graphic  to  the  scenes  of  his 
labors,  that  they  will  be  regarded  as  equally  in 
place  in  the  present  connection,  and  will  serve 
to  increase  the  pleasure  with  which  the  following 
pages  will  be  read. 


INTRODUCTORY  CHAPTER, 


FROM    THE     "FOOTSTEPS     OF    OUR     FOREFATHERS, 


BY  JAMES    G.   MIALL. 


r^v^§y^ 


he  name  of  Dr.  Doddridge  is 
one  on  which  all  who  have 
sympathy  with  the  generous, 
the  benevolent  and  the  devout, 
will  ever  delight  to  linger. 
Though  deeply  engraven  in  the 
annals    of    protestant    noncon- 


isr— ;&   formity,  it  is  the  exclusive  prop- 


erty of  no  creed.  Doddridge 
was  no  genius,  in  the  ordinary  acceptation  of  the  word, 
and  no  one  thing  which  he  did  transcended  other  things 
of  a  similar  kind  done  by  others.  His  learning  has  been 
often  surpassed ;  his  pulpit  oratory  was  not  resplendent ; 
his  poetry,  though  pleasing,  bore  no  traces  of  inspira- 
tion ;  his  power  over  the  minds  of  others  was  not  su- 
preme. Yet  there  was  in  him  such  a  combination  of 
excellences  as  to  lift  him  at  once  out  of  all  vulgar 
mediocrity.  Commencing  with  a  youth  which  was 
fuller  of  a  sportive  playfulness  than  can  be  comprehended 


10  INTRODUCTORY    CHAPTER. 

by  the  dull,  and  which  exposed  him  to  reproof  from  the 
cynical,  though  it  was  remote  from  vice  and  abhorrent 
from  hypocrisy,  the  growth  of  his  character  was  like  the 
gradual  ripening  of  a  rich  harvest,  at  length  reaching 
the  point  of  full  maturity  and  ample  abundance.  The 
diligence  of  his  self-cultivation,  the  integrity  of  his  heart 
and  frankness  of  his  manners,  the  variety  of  his  attain- 
ments, the  judiciousness  and  pertinence  of  his  conduct, 
and  his  unwearied  industry,  all  united  to  fervor  of  de- 
votion and  an  insatiable  thirst  for  usefulness  which  have 
never  been  surpassed,  give  him  a  just  claim  to  be  re- 
garded as  belonging  to  the  first  rank  among  those  whose 
nobility  will  be  the  most  conspicuous,  and  whose  honors 
the  most  enduring. 

,  Such  have  been  the  thoughts  of  many,  as  they  have 
looked  upon  the  pleasant  and  well-built  town  of  North- 
ampton. Not  a  few  have  probably  directed  their  first 
inquiries,  on  entering  it,  to  the  vestiges  of  the  author  of 
"  The  Family  Expositor,"  and  of  "  The  Rise  and  Pro- 
gress of  Religion  in  the  Soul." 

Doddridge's  meeting-house  still  stands  on  the  Castle- 
hill, — h  spot  not  to  be  visited  without  a  crowd  of  his- 
torical reminiscences.  Northampton  is  well  known  as 
one  of  our  oldest  fortified  towns,  dating  from  a  period, 
at  latest,  soon  after  that  of  the  Conquest.  Compared 
with  Windsor  or  with  Nottingham,  there  is  nothing  in 
its  appearance  which  would  seem  to  claim  eminence  for 
it.     It  has  no  bold,  projecting,  almost  inaccessible  rock, 


INTRODUCTORY    CHAPTER.  11 

and  the  river  which  flows  through  it  is  far  from  impos- 
ing. But  the  town  is  built  upon  very  high  ground,  and 
the  Castle-hill,  which  is  a  considerable  elevation,  over- 
looks a  marshy  tract,  calculated  to  give  great  security  to 
its  ancient  fortress.  As  we  stand  upon  this  hill,  what 
crowds  of  varied  historical  associations  rush  upon  the 
mind  !  Beauty  and  chivalry,  conquest  and  defeat,  tales 
of  joy  and  sorrow,  empires  lost  and  won,  have  dated 
from  this  spot  their  all-varying  fortunes.  It  was  here 
that  one  of  the  most  celebrated  scenes  occurred  in  the 
contest  waged  by  Henry  II.  with  the  Roman  hierarchy, 
when  that  king,  under  the  constitutions  of  Clarendon, 
cited  Thomas  a  Beckett  to  appear  before  a  council  of 
the  states,  and  when  the  primate,  blazing  in  all  the 
splendors  of  his  archiepiscopal  pomp,  refused  to  submit 
to  the  royal  jurisdiction  ;  and  it  was  from  this  town  that 
Beckett  fled,  in  the  disguise  of  a  monk,  to  take  refuge 
in  Flanders.  It  was  here  that  King  John  was  besieged 
Ly  his  barons  ;  and  here  that  the  same  king  met  the 
papal  nuncios,  by  whom,  failing  to  make  sufficient  con- 
cessions, he  was  excommunicated.  Here,  also,  Henry 
III.  besieged  his  factious  barons,  under  the  conduct  of 
the  younger  De  Moutfort.  Here  was  held  the  splendid 
court  of  Edward  I. ;  and  through  this  town  the  king 
followed  his  beloved  Eleanor.  Here,  too,  a  parliament 
was  held,  to  consider  the  coronation  and  marriage  of 
Edward  II.  Beneath  these  walls  Henry  VI.  lost  his 
kingdom  in  a  battle  with  the  Earl  of  Warwick.     The 


12  INTRODUCTORY    CHAPTER. 

poll-tax,  which  occasioned  the  insurrection  of  Wat 
Tyler,  was  passed  by  a  parliament  assembling  in  this 
town.  It  was  in  this  castle  that  Richard  III.  determined 
to  seize  the  crown  of  England  from  the  infant  hands  of 
Edward  V.  Elizabeth,  Charles  I.,  Cromwell,  Charles 
IT.,  all  have  their  memorials  here.  The  castle  was  de- 
molished in  the  year  1662  ;  and  though  a  few  remains 
of  the  ancient  building  exist,  its  principal  site  is  now 
occupied  by  edifices  of  a  less  imposing  and  more  peace- 
ful character. 

"  Time  has  seen, — that  lifts  the  low, 
And  level  lays  the  lofty  brow, — 
Has  seen  this  broken  pile  complete, 
Big  with  the  vanities  of  state. 
A  little  rule,  a  little  sway, 
A  sunbeam  in  a  winter's  day, 
Is  all  the  proud  and  mighty  have. 
Between  the  cradle  and  the  grave.'** 

We  think  with  pleasure  how  the  spot,  once  resound- 
ing with  the  histories  of  the  great,  is  now  consecrated 
by  the  memory  of  the  good. 

It  was  after  a  considerable  conflict  of  opposite  emo- 
tions, that  Doddridge,  then  twenty-seven  years  of  age, 
came,  in  the  year  1729,  to  the  conclusion  that  it  was 
his  duty  to  settle  at  Northampton ;  and  it  was  within 
the  walls  of  the  Castle-street  meeting-house  that,  during 
twenty-two  years,  he  fulfilled  the  duties  of  a  "  good  and 
faithful  servant."     His  chapel,  which  would  be  deemed 

*  Prior. 


INTRODUCTORY    CHAPTER.  13 

a  large  one  for  that  period,  is  neat  and  commodious ; 
and,  though  the  lower  part  of  it  has  been  considerably- 
renovated,  the  pulpit  and  the  pewing  of  the  galleries  are 
still  unchanged.  A  marble  monument,  in  the  most 
profuse  style  of  mural  decoration,  bears  an  inscription  to 
the  memory  of  Doddridge,  more  verbose  than  powerful. 

But  there  is  no  part  of  this  building  altogether  so  in- 
teresting to  the  visitor  as  the  vestry.  Here  are  the 
chair  in  which  Doddridge  sat ;  the  table  at  which  he 
wrote  his  "  Expositor  ;"  the  original  invitation  addressed 
to  him  to  become  the  pastor  of  the  church,  with  his  re- 
ply ;  the  drawing  of  the  monument  erected  to  his 
memory  in  the  cemetery  of  Lisbon,  where  he  died. 
These  walls  have  been,  doubtless,  familiar  with  many  of 
those  communings  of  ardent  devotion  which  rendered 
him  so  powerful  in  the  pulpit  and  from  the  press ;  and 
here  he  often  verified  the  sentiment,  that  "  Solitude  has 
nothing  gloomy  in  it  wrhen  the  soul  points  upwards." 

When  Doddridge  undertook — as  he  did  immediately 
before  his  coming  to  Northampton — the  formation  of  a 
dissenting  academy,  the  course  was  not  without  its 
perils.  This  aspect  of  the  case  presented  itself  to  the 
mind  of  Dr.  Watts,  who  was  consulted  respecting  the 
project.  "  Are  the  hands  of  enemies,"  writes  Watts, 
"  so  effectually  chained  up  from  offering  us  any  violence, 
that  they  cannot  indict  or  persecute  you,  under  the  pre- 
tence that  your  academy  is  a  school  ?"* 

*  Doddridge's  Correspondence,  vol.  ii.  p.  481. 

B 


14  INTRODUCTORY    CHAPTER. 

There  were  sufficient  reasons  for  such  a  question. 
Since  the  Restoration,  the  nonconformists  had  been  ex- 
cluded from  the  benefit  of  the  English  universities,  and 
their  schools  had  been  conducted  in  private,  under  the 
management  of  such  individuals  as  were  considered 
competent.  One  of  the  most  eminent  establishments 
was  conducted  by  Mr.  Morton,  at  Newington  Green. 
At  this  school  Defoe,  Samuel  Wesley,  and  many  minis- 
ters, received  their  first  training.  Another  was  under 
the  discipline  of  Mr.  Kerr,  of  Bethnal  Green.  But  these 
seminaries  did  not  pass  unmolested.  Morton  was  ex- 
posed to  perpetual  annoyances  from  spies  and  informers ; 
till,  at  length,  worn  out  by  vexations,  he  abandoned  his 
country,  and  took  refuge  in  New  England.  A  little 
later,  a  still  more  eminent  establishment  was  kept  by 
Mr.  Doolittle,  who  preached  at  Monk  well-street,  and 
lived  at  Islington.  Many  men  of  considerable  noncon- 
formist eminence  received  their  education  under  his 
roof;  amongst  the  rest,  Matthew  Henry  and  Dr.  Calamy. 
But  he  was  compelled  also  to  break  up  his  establishment 
at  Islington,  and  to  remove  first  to  Battersea,  and  after- 
wards to  Clerkenwell.*  Indeed,  no  dissenter  could  at 
that  time  exercise  the  functions  of  a  teacher  without  ex- 
posing himself  to  dangerous  penalties.  Roger  Rosen, 
for  teaching  a  few  little  children  to  read,  was  cited  to 
Chester,  excommunicated,  and  was  in  great  danger  of 
starvation. 

*  Calamy's  Life  and  Times,  vol.  i.  pp.  11 3-138. 


INTRODUCTORY    CHAPTER.  15 

In  one  of  these  academies, — that,  namely,  kept  by 
Morton, — Samuel  Wesley,  father  of  the  celebrated  foun- 
der of  Methodism,  received,  as  we  have  said,  his  educa- 
tion. A  book,  bearing  his  name,  but  published  probably 
without  his  consent  or  authority,  was  put  forth,  which 
contained  severe  strictures  on  the  mode  of  education 
adopted  by  protestant  dissenters.  The  work  drew  forth 
a  reply,  to  which  Wesley  added  a  rejoinder,  containing 
severe  reflections  on  the  nonconforming  body.  This 
was  a  cruel  blow,  especially  at  a  time  when  dissenters 
with  difficulty  maintained  a  tolerated  position.  "  When 
all  is  done,  gentlemen,"  said  Defoe,  in  his  strictures  on 
the  work,  "  why  do  we  erect  private  academies,  and  teach 
our  children  by  themselves  \  Even  for  the  same  reason 
that  we  do  not  communicate  with  you,  because  you  shut 
us  out  by  imposing  unreasonable  terms.  *  *  But 
while  you  shut  our  children  out  of  your  schools,  never 
quarrel  at  our  teaching  them  at  those  of  our  own,  or 
sending  them  into  foreign  countries;  since,  wherever 
they  are  taught,  they  generally  get  a  share  of  learning 
at  least  equal  to  yourselves,  and,  we  hope,  partake  of  as 
much  honesty  ; — and,  as  to  their  performances,  match 
them,  and  outpreach  them,  if  you  can.  I  wish  that  was 
the  only  strife  between  us." 

Even  after  the  accession  of  the  house  of  Hanover,  oc- 
casional riots,  stimulated  by  the  party  who  were  favora- 
ble to  the  Pretender,  menaced  the  dissenters  in  various 
parts  of  the  kingdom,  and  were  stimulated  by  a  celebra- 


16  INTRODUCTORY    CHAPTER. 

ted  sermon,  preached  March  31,  17  17,  by  Bishop  Hoad- 
ley,  on  the  nature  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  in  which  he 
asserted  "  that  Christ  is  the  sole  law-giver  to  his  subjects, 
and  the  sole  judge  of  their  behavior  in  the  affairs  of  con- 
science and  eternal  salvation ;"  and  that,  "  to  set  up  any 
other  authority  in  his  kingdom,  to  which  his  subjects  are 
indispensably  obliged  to  submit  their  consciences  or  con- 
duct in  what  is  properly  called  religion,  evidently  de- 
stroys the  rule  and  authority  of  Jesus  Christ  as  king." 
Sherlock  charged  Hoadley  with  endeavoring  to  prepare 
the  way  for  the  repeal  of  the  Test  Act ;  and  the  Convo- 
cation declared  his  sentiments  subversive  of  all  govern- 
ment and  discipline  in  the  church  of  Christ.  This  was 
the  last  bond  fide  sitting  of  this  body.  They  have  never 
been  permitted  to  transact  business  since  that  period. 

Such  were  the  circumstances  under  which  Doddridge 
first  instituted,  on  his  settlement  at  Northampton,  his 
academy.  He  was,  in  many  respects,  in  a  favorable 
position  for  doing  so.  The  dissenters  were  in  high  favor 
at  court,  and  their  adversaries  in  a  position  of  declining 
influence.  But  they  had,  on  many  occasions,  given 
great  annoyance  to  Doddridge  and  his  students,  and  at 
length  they  proceeded  to  systematic  hostility.  At  a 
visitation  in  Northampton,  in  the  year  1*752,  Reynolds, 
the  chancellor,  told  the  church-wardens  of  DocMridge's 
parish  "  that  he  was  informed  that  there  was  a  fellow  in 
this  parish  who  taught  a  grammar-school,  as  he  sup- 
posed, without  any  license  from  the  bishop,"  and  com- 


INTRODUCTORY    CHAPTER.  17 

manded  them,  if  they  found  such  to  be  the  fact,  to  pre- 
sent Doddridge,  that  he  might  be  prosecuted  according 
to  law.  Nor  was  such  a  prosecution  in  those  days  an 
unusual  event ;  for  Doddridge  tells  us  that  he  knew 
twenty  such  attempts  within  less  than  so  many  years. 
Whilst  this  case  was  pending  in  the  ecclesiastical  court, 
and  at  the  time  of  a  general  election,  in  which  a  Jacobite 
member  was  returned,  a  riotous  attack  was  made  on 
Doddridge's  house,  which  was  connived  at  by  the  mayor 
of  the  town. 


DODDRIDGE  S    HOUSE,    NORTHAMPTON'. 

By  the  express  intervention  of  George  II.,  who  de- 
clared that,  in  his  reign,  there  should  be  no  persecution, 
the  suit  was  quashed. 

The  progress  of  dissenting  liberty  during  the  reign  of 
Geo.  III.  and  his  successors,  the  contests  respecting  the 
Corporation  and  Test  Acts,  and  Catholic  Emancipation, 
which  were  terminated  in  1828  and  1829  by  the  repeal 
of  those  oppressive  enactments,  the  bill  of  Lord  Sidmouth, 
in  1811,  which  sought  to  limit  "  the  liberty  of  prophesy- 

B* 


18  INTRODUCTORY    CHAPTER. 

ing"  by  demanding  securities  of  dissenting  ministers, 
and  which  was  resisted  and  defeated  by  the  whole  body 
of  the  nonconformists,  are  matters  of  such  modern  his- 
tory as  scarcely  to  need  repetition.  The  spirit  of  an  es- 
tablishment is,  we  thankfully  own,  becoming  every  day 
more  enlarged  and  tolerant ;  but  until — all  bounties  and 
penalties  apart — the  state  shall  retire  within  the  province 
which  alone  she  can  legitimately  occupy,  and  until  the 
rights  of  man  shall  be  as  distinctly  acknowledged  in  the 
meanest  dissenter  who  worships  in  his  barn  as  in  the 
haughtiest  churchman  who  wears  his  mitre,  the  war  for 
religious  liberty  will  not  be  ended. 


INTRODUCTION. 

DISSENT  IN   THE   EEIGN   OF  WILLIAM   III. 

The  booming  of  the  cannon  on  the  beach  of  Torbay, 
November  5,  1688,  was  a  joyous  signal  for  the  Protes- 
tant Dissenters  of  England.  The  Prince  of  Orange 
landed  as  the  deliverer  of  the  oppressed,  the  champion 
of  civil  and  religious  liberty.  "  Since  the  English  na- 
tion had  ever  testified  a  particular  affection  to  his  con- 
sort and  himself,  he  could  not  but  espouse  their  intere-ts, 
and  contribute  all  that  in  him  lav  for  maintaining  both 
the  Protestant  religion  and  the  laws  and  liberties  of 
these  kingdoms."  So  ran  the  manifesto  of  William; 
and  many  a  group  of  anxious  citizens  might  be  seen 
reading  the  document,  as  it  was  fastened,  still  wet,  to 
the  column  of  some  old  market-cross  ;  and  there  were 
eager  eyes  at  the  same  time  tracing  its  lines  as  it  was 
brought  into  the  dwelling  of  some  nonconforming 
burgess.  The  declaration  was  not  very  strong,  and  only 
by  implication  gave  hope  to  the  Protestant  sufferers  for 
conscience'  sake.  But  it  was  doubtless  interpreted  with 
the  full  knowledge  that  the  Prince  of  Orange  considered 


20  DISSENT    IN    THE    REIGN 

conscience  to  be  God's  province,  and  had  found  by  ex- 
perience in  Holland  that  toleration  was  one  of  the  wisest 
measures  of  human  government.*  "Welcome  indeed 
was  the  hope  of  religious  quietude  after  such  times  as 
the  Dissenters  had  seen.  The  worst  and  most  infamous 
of  mankind  had  been  hired  to  accuse  them  :  the  com- 
mission of  perjury,  convictions  without  juries,  and  the 
summary  punishment  of  the  accused,  had  been  common 
things.  Goods  rifled,  estates  seized,  property  embezzled, 
houses  broken  open,  and  families  disturbed,  often  at 
midnight,  in  the  absence  of  any  cause  or  shadow  of 
cause,  if  only  a  malicious  villain  happened  to  suspect  a 
meeting  there — are  the  atrocities  enumerated  by  the 
calm  and  candid  Howe,  just  as  the  storm  of  intolerance 
was  passing  away.f 

William  was  in  religion  of  a  catholic  spirit ;  his  ec- 
clesiastical policy  was  large  and  liberal.  He  came  to 
England  with  the  purpose  of  establishing  toleration,  and 
with  the  hope  of  accomplishing  more  even  than  that. 
He  was  anxious  that  Dissenters  should  be  admitted  to 
offices  of  trust  and  power,  thinking,  with  the  illustrious 
divine  just  named,  that  for  the  State  to  deprive  itself  of 
the  services  of  such  men,  "  for  anything  less  consider- 
able than  those  qualifications  are  by  which  they  are  use- 
ful, was  like  a  man  tearing  off'  from  himself  the  limbs 


*  Burnet's  History  of  His  Own  Times. 

t  John  Howe's  "  Case  of  Protestant  Dissenters  Represented  and 
Argued." — Life  by  Rogers,  p.  356. 


OF    WILLIAM    III.  21 

of  his  body  for  a  spot  on  his  skin."  And  further,  he 
was  decidedly  favorable  to  such  a  modification  of  the 
Established  Church  as  would  have  allowed  a  number  of 
the  Presbyterian  body  to  enter  within  its  pale.  But  he 
was  completely  thwarted  in  these  latter  views :  the  High 
Church  party  would  not  consent  to  their  emoluments 
being  now  shared  by  the  men  to  whom  they  had  suc- 
cessfully looked  for  sympathy  and  aid  when  Popery, 
rampant  under  James,  had  threatened  the  ruin  of  the 
entire  Protestant  cause.*  As  to  the  Dissenters  them- 
selves, they  would  in  general  have  been  glad  of  the  re- 
moval of  such  tests  as  excluded  them  from  office,  but 
great  numbers  of  them  were  by  no  means  favorable  to  a 
comprehension.  Policy  on  the  part  of  some  of  the 
Presbyterians  induced  them  to  oppose  the  measure ; 
principle  on  the  part  of  all  the  Independents  must  have 
prevented  them  from  sharing  in  its  advantages.  The  wall 
of  partition  between  the  endowed  Episcopalian  and  other 
sects  stood  as  strong  and  lofty  as  before  ;  and  the  gateway 

*  Seven  attempts  were  made  to  alter  what  is  imposed  by  the 
Church  of  England,  so  as  to  remove  the  scruples  of  Dissenters. 
"The  first  was  the  Hampton  Court  Conference,  in  the  reign  of 
James  I.  Bishop  Ushers  scheme  for  the  reduction  of  episcopacy, 
was  a  second  measure  of  the  kind  in  the  time  of  Charles  I.  After 
the  restoration  of  Charles  II.,  proposals  for  a  comprehension  were 
four  times  brought  forward.  Tliis,  under  William  III.,  was  the 
seventh.  Ever  since  the  affair  has  laid  dormant." — Touhnia.  His- 
torical View,  p.  66. — It  should  be  added,  however,  that  the  thing  was 
much  talked  abuut  in  1748.  Dr.  Chandler  had  an  interview  with 
the  Bishop  of  Norwich  on  the  subject. — Doddridge's  Correspondence, 
vol.  v.  p.  41. 


22  DISSENT    IN    THE    REIGN 

to  the  honors  and  rewards  of  the  State  continued  to  be 
formidably  flanked  by  the  Test  and  Corporation  Acts. 

Before  any  one  could  become  a  civic  magistrate,  he 
was  required  to  receive  the  Lord's  Supper  in  the  Church 
of  England.  Some  Dissenters  did  not  object  to  occa- 
sional communion  in  the  Establishment,  among  whom 
were  two  celebrated  aldermen  of  London,  Sir  II.  Ed- 
win and  Sir  Thomas  Abney.  The  latter  had  frequently 
communed  in  the  parish  church,  when,  in  1700,  he  was 
elected  to  serve  the  office  of  Lord  Mayor.  Feeling  no 
scruple  about  joining  in  the  episcopal  service  under 
common  circumstances,  he  came  to  feel  no  scruple  about 
that  act  as  a  qualification  for  office — a  view  of  the  mat- 
ter which,  however  conscientious  it  might  be,  was  cer- 
tainly of  a  nature  to  awaken  suspicion  in  the  minds  of 
those  who  were  not  much  imbued  with  the  love  that 
thinketh  no  evil.  Some  Dissenters,  especially  Defoe, 
condemned  the  practice  with  extreme  severity.  A  con- 
troversy on  the  subject  arose,  in  which  Mr.  Howe  was 
involved.  After  the  accession  of  Queen  Anne,  a  very 
different  kind  of  opposition  was  made  to  the  practice 
by  the  High  Church  party,  who  sought,  by  what  was 
termed  the  occasional  conformity  bill,  to  exclude  from 
office  such  men  as  Sir  T.  Abney.* 

Freedom  of  worship,  however,  was  ceded  to  all  ex- 

*  Sir  H.  Edwin,  however,  not  only  continued  to  attend,  during  his 
mayoralty,  his  own  place  of  worship,  but  ventured  to  take  the  City 
regalia  with  him. 


OF    WILLIAM    III.  23 

cept  the  Papists,  and  those  who  denied  the  doctrine  of 
the  Trinity.  "  We  may  justly  deem  this  act  a  very 
scanty  measure  of  religious  liberty  ;  yet  it  proved  more 
effectual  through  the  lenient  and  liberal  policy  of  the 
eighteenth  century ;  the  subscription  to  articles  of  faith, 
which  soon  became  as  obnoxious  as  that  to  matters  of  a 
more  indifferent  nature,  having"  been  practically  dis- 
pensed with,  though  such  a  genuine  toleration  as  Chris- 
tianity and  philosophy  alike  demand,  had  no  place  in 
our  statute-book  before  the  reign  of  George  III.,?*  South 
did  not  like  it,  and  Sacheverell  afterwards  condemned 
it  as  unwarrantable  ;  yet  the  Act  of  Toleration  was 
passed  with  surprising  ease,  and  the  Dissenters  through- 
out the  land  rejoiced  in  the  appropriation  of  their  new- 
found liberty.  If,  in  some  quarters,  an  indecent  exulta- 
tion was  bet-rayed  on  account  of  this  victory  over  the 
spirit  of  oppression,  generally  a  more  sober  feeling  was 
evinced  ;  and  where  counsels  of  moderation  were  needed 
by  highly-excited  minds,  they  were  tendered  with  be- 
coming wisdom  and  exceeding  beauty  in  Howe's  "  Re- 
quests both  to  Conformists  and  Dissenters,  touching 
their  temper  and  behavior  to  each  other  upon  the  lately- 
passed  indulgence." 

AVhile  William  was  under  sail  for  the  shores  of  Eno-- 

o 

land,  a  little  incident  occurred,  of  which  a  memorandum 
in  MS.  is  preserved,!  illustrative  of  the  unsettled  nature 

*  Hallam's  Constitut'onal  History,  vol.  ii.  p.  327. 
t  Wilson  MSS. — Dr.  \Villiam3'  Library. 


24  DISSENT    IN    THE    REIGN 

of  the  times,  and  the  fears  which  haunted  Dissenters  in 
their  religious  services.  Joseph  Hussey,  a  promising 
young  man  of  the  Puritan  stamp  and  the  Independent 
order,  sought  the  rite  of  ordination  from  Dr.  Annesley 
(then  minister  of  Little  St.  Helen's)  and  certain  other 
divines.  But  not  in  the  meeting-house  did  the  parties 
dare  to  assemble  :  they  retired  to  the  Doctor's  "  private 
house  in  the  Spitalfields  of  London,  in  an  upper  cham- 
ber." There,  on  the  24th  October,  the  young  candidate 
was  secretly  examined  "  in  the  parts  of  learning  by  the 
elder,  who  took  the  chair,  and  talked  in  Latin."  The 
next  day  he  passed  through  the  ordeal  of  defending  a 
thesis,  and  on  the  26th  he  was  ordained.  The  whole 
proceedings,  we  are  informed,  were  begun  and  fin- 
ished in  that  private  upper  chamber  in  Spitalfields — 
a  neighborhood  which,  it  is  interesting  to  remember, 
was  just  then  fast  losing  the  last  lingering  vestiges  of 
verdure,  under  the  encroachments  of  the  weavers,  who, 
driven  from  France  by  the  ^evocation  of  the  edict  of 
Nantes,  there  sought  refuge,  and  soon  filled  the  place 
with  lines  of  humble-looking  houses,  and  the  cheerful 
clack  of  their  busy  looms.  Upon  the  testimonials  signed 
there  were  obvious  indications  of  the  furtive  way  in 
which  the  business  had  been  done.  Five  gave  their 
names,  but  the  sixth  would  not.  "  Domino  Anonymo" 
is  the  title  bestowed  on  the  worthy,  whoever  he  was, 
with  the  addition,  "  He  was  sine,  because  of  the  cloud- 


OF    WILLIAM    III.  25 

ness  of  the  times,  and  would  neither  subscribe,  nor  be 
known  to  me.w* 

And  even  after  the  Toleration  Act  had  been  passed 
four  years,  it  appears,  from  the  story  of  Calaniy's  ordi- 
nation, that  there  were  still  some  ministers  very  chary 
of  making  such  ecclesiastical  proceedings  public.  Earn- 
estly did  he  beseech  the  assistance  of  John  Howe  on 
the  occasion.  Before  the  latter  could  agree  to  it,  he 
said  he  thought  it  requisite  to  go  up  to  court,  "  and 
wait  upon  my  Lord  Sommers,  and  inquire  of  his  lord- 
ship whether  such  a  proceeding  would  not  be  ill  taken, 
and  might  not  draw  ill  consequences  after  it."  Ulti- 
mately he  declined.  Dr.  Bates  did  the  same,  as  also 
Mr.  Mead.  At  last,  others  of  lesser  name  were  pre- 
vailed upon  to  take  part  in  the  service,  and  Calamy  and 
six  others  were  ordained,  not  "  within  a  chamber  in 
Spitalrields,"  but  before  a  congregation,  in  Dr.  Annes- 
ley's  own  meeting-house  in  Little  St.  Helen's,  it  being 
the  first  public  service  of  the  kind  ever  held  since  the 
restoration.!  Some  of  the  Presbyterians  did  not  then, 
nor  for  some  time  afterwards,  abandon  all  hope  of  a 
comprehension,  as  appears  from  the  old  title-deeds  of 

*  Wilson  MSS. — Dr.  Williams'  Library. 

The  certificate  given  to  Matthew  Henry,  who  .was  ordained  pri- 
vately the  same  year,  also  indicates  great  wariness  : — ''  We,  whose 
names  are  subscribed,  are  well  assured  that  Mr.  Matthew  Henry  is 
an  ordained  minister  of  the  gospel.  Sic  teslor. — W.  Wickens  ; 
Fran  Talients ;  Edwd.  Lawrence;  Jsath.  Vincent;  James  Owen  ; 
Richard  Steele." 

t  Calamy's  Life,  vol.  i.  p.  344. 

c 


2G  DISSENT    IX    THE    REIGN 

meeting-houses,  still  in  existence/"  Perhaps  this  feeling 
might  also  induce  them  to  avoid  widening  the  breach 
between  the  Dissenters  and  the  Episcopalians,  by  prac- 
tically committing  themselves  on  the  very  delicate  ques- 
tion of  ordination.  Independents,  one  would  suppose, 
could  only  be  checked  in  this  matter  by  fear  of  bavins 

J  a 

their  liberty  abridged.  While,  however,  their  ordina- 
tions continued  private,  they  were  conducted  at  church- 
meetings,  and  the  power  of  the  people  in  the  election 
of  the  pastor  was  distinctly  recognized.f 

By  degrees  both  denominations  became  more  bold, 
and  ventured  on  the  full  exercise  of  their  religious  rights. 
If  some  of  the  old  Puritan  congregations  melted  away, 
especially  in  villages  where  an  ejected  minister  had 
worn  out  his  days  and  left  no  successor,  or  the  original 
supporters  of  the  persecuted  cause  had  died  off  without 
bequeathing  to  survivors  their  opinions  as  well  as  their 
property,  many  new  dissenting  churches  were  formed, 
especially  in  towns,  where  large  populations  afforded 
scope  for  their  increase,  and  greater  freedom  of  social 

*  Provision  was  made  for  disposal  of  the  premises,  in  case  of  such 
an  event. 

t  Oalamy  insisted  upon  being  ordained  a  minister  of  the  Catholic 
Church,  without  any  confinement  to  a  particular  flock,  or  any  one 
denomination. — Life,  vol.  i.  p.  341. 

In  the  Wellingborough  church-book,  it  is  recorded:  "3  Sept. 
1691. — We  held  a  church-meeting,  with  fasting  and  prayer,  for  the 
choosing  of  elders  and  setting  them  apart.  When  we  had  chosen,  by 
the  lifting  up  of  the  hands  of  the  church  and  the  testification  of  their 
desires,  we  ordained  them." — Here  the  power  of  ordaining  was 
exercised. 


WILLIAM    III.  27 

action  encouraged  tlieir  efforts.  Vigorous  exertions 
were  made  in  the  building-  of  places  of  worship  ;  and 
though,  in  many  cases,  the  inelegance  of  these  struc- 
tures, and  their  concealed  position,  showed  a  want  of 
taste,  the  existence  of  poverty,  or  the  experience  of  fear, 
some  few  were  of  a  character  to  redeem  the  denomina- 
tions in  these  respects,  of  which  the  commodious  and 
handsome  old  meeting-houses  at  Stepney  and  Xorwich 
may  be  cited  as  examples.  The  energies  which  had 
patiently  borne  persecution  were  not  likely  to  slumber 
now  that  the  time  for  activity  had  come,  although  the 
sagacious  Burnet  had  predicted  "that  Nonconformity 
could  not  last  long,  and  that,  after  Baxter,  Bates,  and 
Howe  were  laid  in  tlieir  graves,  it  would  die  of  itself." 
The  latter  wisely  replied  to  this  far-seeing  prelate,  "that 
id  existence  depended  much  more  on  principles  than 
persons.*' 

The  science  of  statistics  is  quite  a  modern  discovery ; 
hence  we  are  without  data  on  which  to  decide  the  num- 
ber and  proportions  of  different  sects  at  the  time  now 
under  consideration.  It  is  quite  certain,  however,  that 
the  Presbyterians  had  a  very  large  majority.  In  lTlo, 
it  is  computed  that  the  Presbyterians  were  in  relation 
to  the  Independents  as  two  to  one.  In  the  early  part 
of  William's  reign,  probably  the  proportion  on  the 
Presbyterian  side  was  still  larger.  For  some  time  after 
the  restoration,  Nonconformity  included  in  its  ranks  a 
considerable  number  of  titled  names,  and  could  point  to 


28  DISSENT    IN    THE    REIGN 

others  still  more  illustrious  as  the  friends  and  patrons  of 
its  early  ministers.  They  continue  till  towards  the 
close  of  the  century  to  adorn  the  dedications  prefixed  to 
the  works  of  dissenting  divines  ;  and  traces  of  aristo- 
cratic hospitality,  and  constant  or  occasional  attendance 
at  the  meeting-house,  may  be  found  at  the  same  time ; 
but  these  signs  of  connection  between  the  Nonconformist 
cause  and  the  great  ones  of  the  earth  become  at  length 
few  and  far  between,  till  they  pretty  nearly  vanish.  The 
days  went  by  when  Philip  Lord  Wharton  might  be  seen 
in  his  pew  at  Silver-street,  and  Howe  used  to  go  down 
on  horseback  to  Woburn,  to  see  his  friend  the  Duke  of 
Bedford,  and  old  Lady  Hewley's  lumbering  coach  rolled 
to  St.  Saviour's-gate  meeting-house,  in  the  city  of  York. 
But  if  Dissent  lost  some  of  its  dignified  allies,  it  experi- 
enced no  lack  of  steady  supporters  among  respectable 
merchants,  tradesmen,  and  artisans,  or  among  decent 
yeomen  and  their  dependents.  The  loss  of  caste  at 
court  was  made  up  by  the  favor  it  found  among  the 
commonalty. 

The  Independent  principle  of  church  government, 
considered  simply  in  itself,  is  a  sort  of  centrifugal  force 
in  the  ecclesiastical  universe,  but  there  has  commonly 
been  associated  with  it  in  the  minds  of  its  adherents, 
that  loving  sympathy  with  other  Christians  which  has 
proved  a  centripetal  power.  Hence,  Congregationalists 
early  sought  to  promote  union  between  their  several 
churches,  and  to  maintain  fellowship  with  their  Presby- 


OF    WILLIAM    III.  29 

terian  brethren.  Desire  for  the  latter  was  expressed  in 
a  very  decided  form  in  the  year  1690,  when  metropoli- 
tan pastors  of  the  two  denominations  arranged  certain 
articles  of  agreement,*  resolving  to  call  themselves 
thenceforth  by  the  name  of  the  United  Ministers.  For 
carrying  out  the  design,  frequent  meeting's,  mostly  pri- 
vate, were  held  in  London  ;  sympathy  being  felt  in  the 
country,  meetings  for  the  same  objects  were  held  there, 
less  often,  but  more  public.  Exeter  has  of  late  become 
notorious  as  the  scene  of  an  episcopal  synod :  it  attained 
a  humbler,  but  more  worthy  distinction,  in  the  seven- 
teenth century,  as  the  seat  of  Nonconformist  assemblies. 
Indeed,  as  early  as  the  year  1655,  the  ministers  of 
Devon  and  Cornwall  there  held  fellowship  together,  after 
the  model  of  the  Worcestershire  Association,  under  Bax- 
ter's pastorate  at  Kidderminster.  George  Hughes,  of 
Plymouth,  was  the  first  moderator.  The  assembly  was 
revived  in  1691,  when  the  holy  Mr.  Flavel  preached 
and  presided.  The  "  heads  of  agreement"  framed  in 
London,  were  adopted  in  the  west,  much  to  the  satisfac- 
tion and  joy  *of  that  good  man,  whose  last  public  act 
was  to  take  part  in  the  meeting,  a  few  days  after  which 
he  died.  "  In  the  articles  of  concord,  they  agreed  that 
they  should  not  intermeddle  with  politics,  nor  the  affairs 
of  civil  government,  nor  pretend  to  exercise  church  cen- 


*  Cotton  Mather  says,  that  "  the  management  of  affairs  then  agreed 
upon  to  be  observed  in  future  by  the  two  denominations,  had  been 
manv  years  exemplified  ia  the  churches  of  New  England." 
C* 


30  DISSENT    IN    THE    REIGN 

sures  ;  but  only  to  assist,  advise,  and  counsel  each  other 
as  it  regarded  the  propagation  of  truth  and  holiness,  and 
the  preservation  of  their  churches  from  illiterate  minis- 
ters and  profane  and  scandalous  communicants.  A 
friendly  intercourse  was  by  this  means  maintained 
among  the  ministers  and  congregations  in  the  two  as- 
sociated counties.  When  any  persons  offered  them- 
selves to  the  work  of  the  ministry,  the  assembly  exam- 
ined their  testimonials,  assigned  a  subject  for  a  thesis  to 
the  candidates,  and  appointed  the  ministers  who  were 
to  ordain  them."  Similar  associations  were  formed  in 
Norfolk,*  Hampshire,  and  Cheshire.f  The  formal  coali- 
tion of  the  two  parties  in  London  was  of  short  continu- 
ance. It  terminated  under  painful  circumstances,  owing 
to  a  controversy  which  arose  out  of  the  re-publication 
of  Dr.  Crisp's  works.];  Toulmin  states,  that  "  the  two 
denominations  of  Presbyterians  and  Independents  be- 
came distinct  communities,  and  acted  separately  with 
respect  to  their  own  denominations."     But  this  state- 

*  Harmer's  Remarks  on  the  Congregational  Churches  of  Norfolk 
and  Suffolk. 

t  Bogue  and  Bennett's  History  of  Dissenters,  p.  387. 

£  The  case  is  fully  stated  in  Rogers'  Life  of  Howe. — Efforts  were 
also  made  for  the  establishment  of  some  plan  of  extensive  intercom- 
munication. "  About  this  time,  1698,'-'  says  Calamy,  "  the  method 
of  a  better  correspondence  among  the  Dissenters  throughout  the 
kingdom  was  under  consideration,  as  it  had  been  some  time  before. 
Had  it  taken  effect,  it  might  have  prevented  several  disorders  and 
inconveniences  afterwards  complained  of;  but  an  unaccountable  sort 
of  timorousness  and  indolence  prevented  it.*' — Life  of  Calamy,  vol.  i. 
p.  408. 


OF    WILLIAM    III.  31 

merit,  as  affecting  our  general  view  of  the  Nonconformist 
churches  at  that  time,  must  be  somewhat  modified. 
"  The  dispute  about  Dr.  Crisp's  works  disturbed  the  har- 
mony of  the  meetings  in  London,  but  it  does  not  appear 
to  have  had  any  effect  on  the  county  associations." 

We  are  driven  to  look  at  the  controversies  of  an  age, 
if  we  would  discover  its  opinions ;  yet,  by  this  means, 
we  often  miss  the  exact  attainment  cf  our  object ;  for, 
in  the  heat  and  dust  of  polemic  strife,  men  exaggerate 
their  own  views  and  distort  those  of  their  opponents. 
The  agitation  of  questions  as  to  the  precise  relation  of 
Christ  to  his  people,  involving  several  aspects  of  the 
Calvinistic  theory,  arose  at  the  period  now  under  re- 
view, in  consequence  of  the  re-printing  of  "  Crisp's 
Works."  Crisp  was  an  ultra-Calvinist,  of  an  earlier  pe- 
riod, whose  works  had  been  burnt  by  order  of  the 
Westminster  Assembly.  Baxter,  whose  "  iconoclastic 
zeal"  had  through  life  assailed  with  pre-eminent  indig- 
nation the  idols  of  Antinomianism,  though  now  enfee- 
bled by  disease  and  age,  once  more  vigorously  seized  his 
iron  mace  to  dash  in  pieces  the  old  image  afresh  set  up. 
Dr.  Williams,  a  Presbyterian  of  Baxter's  school,  followed 
him  in  the  attack,  and  succeeded  that  noble  champion 
in  a  long  and  earnest  warfare  against  what  he  deemed 
Antinomian  errors.  But  certain  things  in  his  works 
displeased  Dr.  Chauncey  and  others,  who  happened  to 
be  Independents.  These  now  proceeded  to  assail  the 
opponents   of  Crisp.     Men,  substantially  agreed,  thus 


32  DISSENT    IX    THE    REIGN 

unhappily  fell  into  antagonism  ;  and  from  a  mere  acci- 
dent, views  relating  to  doctrine  came,  in  the  estimation 
of  some,  to  distinguish  persons  who  had  hitherto  differed 
only  in  discipline.  The  Independents  were  thought  to 
have  a  leaning  to  high  Calvinism,  and  the  Presbyterians 
to  belong  to  the  Arminian  school.  But  this  was  incor- 
rect. "Williams  was  not  Arminian,  nor  was  Chauncey 
Antinomian ;  neither  was  the  first  a  type  of  all  Presby- 
terians, any  more  than  the  latter  was  of  all  Independ- 
ents. The  controversy  was  a  singularly  unfortunate 
one,  and  placed  the  parties  in  a  false  position.  Stilling- 
fleet,  Bishop  of  Worcester,  was  appealed  to  by  the  com- 
batants as  a  sort  of  umpire.  One  part  of  his  reply  is 
worthy  of  notice,  as  placing  this,  and  some  other  theolo- 
gical discussions,  in  their  true  light.  u  There  is,"  said 
he,  u  a  remarkable  story  in  the  history  of  the  Synod  of 
Dort,  which  may  not  be  improper  in  this  place.  There 
were,  in  one  of  the  universities  of  that  country,  two  pro- 
fessors, both  very  warm  and  extremely  zealous  for  that 
which  they  accounted  the  most  orthodox  doctrine  ;  but 
it  happened  that  one  of  these  accused  the  other  before 
the  synod  of  no  fewer  than  fifty  errors,  tending  to  Socin- 
ianism  and  Pelagianism  ;  and  wonderful  heat  there  was 
on  both  sides.  At  last  a  committee  was  appointed  to 
examine  this  dreadful  charge  ;  and,  upon  examination, 
they  found  no  ground  for  the  charge  of  Socinianism,  or 
any  other  heresy ;  but  only  that  he  had  asserted  too 
much  the  use  of  ambiguous  and  scholastic  terms,  and 


OF    WILLIAM    III.  33 

endeavored  to  bring  the  way  of  the  schoolmen  into  his 
writings.  Therefore  the  synod  dismissed  him,  with  this 
prudent  advice — Rather  to  keep  to  the  language  of 
Scripture  than  the  schools."  This  was  quite  in  the 
temper  of  Stillingfleet's  earlier  and  better  days,  when  he 
wrote  his  "  Irenicum,"  and  pleaded  for  peace  ;  but  hardly 
agreed  with  the  spirit  of  later  years,  when,  in  his  "  Mis- 
chief of  Separation,"  he  made  a  virulent  attack  on  his 
Nonconformist*  brethren.  However,  his  notion  of  this 
controversy,  as  between  Williams  and  others,  seems  to 
have  been  as  fair  as  the  application  of  the  Dort  story 
was  felicitous.  And  we  may  add,  there  is  abundant  rea- 
son to  believe  that,  at  the  end  of  the  seventeenth  century, 
both  Presbyterians  and  Independents  held  in  substance 
the  evangelical  views  of  the  Puritans.  The  Arian  con- 
troversy did  not  commence  till  some  years  afterwards. 

The  preaching  of  the  Nonconformist  ministers  at  that 
period  was  orthodox.  The  doctrines  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment were  embodied  in  their  discourses.  Still,  they 
differed  from  their  fathers.  In  form  they  differed.  The 
divisions  in  their  discourses  were  less  numerous  and  per- 
plexing. The  bones  were  not  so  visible.  The  limbs  were 
fuller  and  more  roundly  molded.  This  was  a  decided  im- 
provement. But  in  spirit,  too,  some  of  them  also  began 
to  differ.  The  sermons  had  in  them  less  of  fire,  and  coldly 
fell  upon  the  people's  consciences.     This  was  a  sad  defect. 

*  Williams's  writings,  as  a  caveat  against  the  extravagances  of 
Crisp,  were,  at  that  time,  no  doubt  very  valuable. 


34  DISSENT    IX    THE    REIGN 

Nevertheless,  there  were  men  who  preached  with  as 
much  of  unction  as  orthodoxy,  and  any  one  in  those 
days  visiting  the  "ancient  and  fair  city  of  Chester," 
might  find  a  superior  specimen  of  both  combined  in  the 
ministry  of  good  Matthew  Henry.  In  the  venerable  old 
meeting-house,  still  remaining,  that  eminent  expositor 
and  divine  ministered  to  a  rather  large  congregation,  of 
whom  ultimately  no  less  than  350  were  in  church- 
fellowship,  including  among  them  some  of  the  city  mag- 
nates. Strangers  to  the  late  habits  of  these  degenerate 
times,  they  were  to  be  seen  assembled  in  their  large  deep 
oaken  pews,  as  early  as  nine  o'clock  on  a  Sunday  morn- 
ing, when  the  service  began  by  singing  the  100th 
Psalm,  in  the  version  of  Sternhold  and  Hopkins,  the 
singers  dwelling  on  the  notes  rather  longer  than  we 
moderns  are  wont  to  do.  We  fancy,  as  we  look  on  the 
preacher's  portrait,  that  we  see  him  in  the  pulpit  sur- 
mounted by  a  sounding-board,  standing  erect  with  portly 
form,  full  face,  and  dignified  mien,  set  oft'  a  little  by 
Genevan  cloak  and  well-curled  wig.  The  Psalm  finished, 
a  short  prayer  follows,  and  then  comes  an  exposition  of 
a  chapter  in  the  Old  Testament.  It  is  no  arbitrary  se- 
lection, but  what  arises  in  course  ;  for  this  man  of 
method  having  begun  at  Genesis,  goes  on  with  persever- 
ing regularity  till  he  reaches  the  end  of  Malachi  The 
matter  and  manner  may  be  easily  seen  on  turning  to  his 
popular  commentary  :  no  doubt  many  a  reader  has  al- 
ready a  vivid  conception  of  both.     Another  psalm  and 


OF    WILLIAM    III.  35 

a  longer  prayer  succeed,  and  from  Henry's  work  on  the 
subject  of  prayer  every  one  will  see  how  eminently  he 
excelled  in  devotional  exercises.  Then  follows  an  hour's 
sermon,  which  had  need  to  be  engaging ;  and  so  it 
generally  is, — full  of  good  and  useful  thoughts,  arranged 
in  quaint  devices,  rather  more  in  the  Puritan  fashion 
than  common,  for  Matthew  has  received  the  mantle  as 
well  as  the  spirit  of  his  father  Philip.  What  is  said  of 
the  sire  may  be  said  of  the  son  :  u  Many  a  good  thought 
has  perished,  because  it  was  not  portable,  and  many  a 
sermon  is  forgotten,  because  it  is  not  memorable  ;  but 
like  seeds  with  wings,  the  sayings  of  Henry  have  floated 
far  and  near,  and  like  seeds  with  hooked  prickles,  his 
sermons  stuek  in  his  most  careless  hearers.  His  tena- 
cious words  took  root,  and  it  was  his  happiness  to  Bee, 
not  only  scriptural  intelligence,  but  fervent  and  i 
tent  piety  spreading  among  his  people.''*  Singing  and 
praying  wind  up  the  service,  after  it  has  lasted  some 
three  hours.  This  would  be  deemed  by  some  almost 
sufficient  for  one  day ;  but  in  the  afternoon  the  same 
thing  exactly  is  repeated,  the  exposition  of  the  Xew 
Testament  in  order  being  substituted  for  that  of  the  Old. 
"We  are  apt  to  pity  the  men  who  performed  or  endured 
such  lengthened  exercises ;  but  surely  they  felt  it  no 
hardship,  or  they  would  have  shortened  them.  Modern 
pastors  fancy  that  under  this  weight  of  six  sonu-.  six 
prayers,  two  expositions,  and  two  sermons  on  a  Sunday, 
*  Life  of  Matthew  Henry,  by  Hamilton. 


36  DISSENT    IN    THE    REIGN 

besides  preaching  in  the  week,  in  all  seven  or  eight 
times,  they  would  utterly  break  down ;  yet  Matthew 
Henry  seems  to  have  borne  the  whole  of  it  very  well ; 
and,  judging  from  his  picture,  gave  no  visible  signs  of 
wasting  through  fatigue.  It  seems  past  all  question  that 
the  numerous  extra  calls  and  claims  of  ecclesiastical  and 
religious  business,  now  so  full  of  the  agitating  excite- 
ment of  the  nineteenth  century,  operates  with  more  ex- 
hausting wear  and  tear  upon  the  powers  both  of  mind 
and  body,  than  the  quiet,  calm,  and  regular  engage- 
ments of  our  Nonconformist  fathers  in  the  days  of 
William  and  Anne.  Perhaps,  too,  the  numerous  public 
occasions  of  religious  service  on  the  week-day,  at  present, 
may  the  more  indispose  us  to  think  with  complacency 
of  the  protracted  Sunday  exercises  then.  After  all,  how- 
ever, it  deserves  inquiry  whether  our  habits  of  religious 
thought  and  feeling  are  as  vigorous  and  steady — have  in 
them  as  long  sustaining  power — as  those  of  the  men  be- 
longing to  that  by-gone  age  ?  It  is  very  refreshing  to 
think  of  the  Sunday  nights  at  home  which  crowned 
these  earlier  hours.  In  many  a  farm-house  or  city 
dwelling  the  master  called  his  family  around  him,  and 
bringing  out  the  "  big  ha'  bible,  once  his  father's  pride," 
reverently  read  its  sacred  pages,  and  catechized  upon  the 
sermon  the  whole  circle  round,  from  the  old  servant  to 
the  little  boy  or  girl  who  sat  beside  and  leaned  within 
the  folds  of  mamma's  ample  and  ornamented  apron. 
Perhaps  the  discourse  of  some  old  good  divine  was  also 


OF    WILLIAM    III.  37 

read,  with  the  additional  offering  of  a  domestic  psalm  or 
prayer.  The  little  folks  might  look  somewhat  sleepy 
before  all  was  done,  and  some  of  the  larger  ones  might 
not  keep  quite  awake  ;  but  still  there  were  men  and 
women  of  strong  minds  and  hearts,  who  could  then  say, 
with  the  Henry  family  at  Broad-oak, — "  If  this  be  not 
heaven,  it  is  the  way  to  it." 

The  relation  in  which  the  pastor  stood  to  his  flock  was 
felt  in  those  times  to  be  peculiarly  intimate  and  sacred. 
He  was  in  many  instances  consulted  as  the  counsellor  of 
his  people,  and  his  advice,  tendered  with  affection,  was 
received  in  the  same  spirit.  Families  grew  up  looking 
to  him  as  their  friend  from  childhood.  The  connection 
of  a  minister  with  a  church  was  more  generally  of  long 
continuance  than  at  present.  The  bond  was  felt  to  be 
of  that  nature  which  nothing  but  death,  or  the  visibly 
outstretched  ringer  of  providence,  could  break. 

The  support  rendered,  though  often  inadequate,  was 
not  so  small*  as  the  figures  employed  to  denote  it  would 
indicate,  according  to  the  value  of  money  at  the  time, 
and  pleasing  entries  belonging  to  that  date  may  be 
foimd  in  some  of  our  old  church  books,  illustrative  of 

*  Upon  Calamy's  being  appointed  assistant  at  Hand  Alley  Meeting, 
be  says:  "There  was  a  distinct  subscription  made  of  £40  per  an- 
num, besides  what  they  allowed  Mr.  Sylvester  before ;  and  I  often 
experienced  the  kindness  of  the  people  in  private  presents  which 
they  made  me  ;  but  at  length  the  income  fell  considerably  short." 
Sometimes  the  whole  income  was  not  above  =£80.  At  that  time  a  la- 
borer could  support  his  wife  and  two  children  on  £15  a  year :  meat 
was  not  more  than  twopence  a  pound. 

D 


38  DISSENT    IN    THE    REIGN 

respectful  and  delicate  attentions  paid  to  those  who  were 
in  the  office  of  the  ministry.* 

Ministers  generally  were  supported  hy  the  freewill 
offerings  of  their  living  flocks ;  but  endowments  from 
the  property  of  the  dead  for  the  support  of  a  pastor 
were  not  uncommon.  To  these  no  objections  were  then 
suggested ;  on  the  contrary,  they  were  hailed  as  un- 
mixed benefits.  But  experience  has  corrected  our  judg- 
ment on  this  question,  and  therefore,  though  we  would 
not  fail  to  honor  the  posthumous  beneficence  of  wealthy 
men  in  that  day,  we  can  with  much  more  pleasure  celebrate 
the  liberality  of  those  who,  before  their  death,  contributed 
not  merely  to  support  the  man  whose  ministry  they  enjoy- 
ed, but  who  aided  in  increasing  the  incomes  of  others. 

The  fund  board   established  for  this  purpose  com- 

*  The  following  is  an  extract  from  the  church  books  belonging  to 
the  Meeting  House  of  Guestwick,  Norfolk.  In  1694,  the  people  there 
were  anxious  to  secure  a  Mr.  Mills  as  their  pastor,  and  accordingly  a 
deputation  was  sent  to  bim. — "Tbej  set  forward  for  London  about 
the  beginning  of  the  month  Oct.  -94.  and  from  thence  to  Chalfont  in 
Bucks,  with  letters  both  from  Mr.  James,  and  several  others.  These 
persons  promised  in  the  name  of  the  church,  that  if  Mr.  Mills  would 
come,  the  church  would  comply  with  what  he  desired.  This  impor- 
tunity and  promise  did  very  hardly  prevail,  yet  at  last  they  got  his 
consent;  the  tidings  of  which,  Mr.  Eli  Durrant  was  sent  to  bring  to 
the  church.  Mr.  John  Springall  tarried  to  accompany  Mr.  Mills  and 
his  family  down,  who  came  by  coach,  and  were  met  by  several  of  the 
brethren  at  S  waff  ham  the  first  of  November,  and  arrived  at  Guest- 
wick the  second,  at  night.  The  charges  which  the  church  and  other 
friends  were  at  for  this  expenditure  amounted  to  near  <£20."  In  the 
church  book  at  Yarmouth  I  remember  noticing  an  entry,  at  a  later 
date,  relative  to  a  coach  and  four  being  sent  for  the  conveyance  of  a 
new  minister  to  the  place. 


OF    WILLIAM    III.  39 

menced  soon  after  the  Revolution,  and  out  of  its  pro- 
ceeds assistance  was  rendered  to  poor  ministers,  and  aid 
also  was  given  to  young  men  preparing  for  the  ministry. 
"  Two  thousand  pounds  were  raised  every  year  in  this 
manner  by  the  Presbyterians,  and  nearly  seventeen 
hundred  by  the  Independents."* 

Of  the  moral  and  religious  character  of  the  early 
Nonconformists  gratifying  testimony  is  borne  by  a  com- 
petent and  truthful  witness.  Watts  remembered  well 
what  he  had  heard  and  seen  of  dissent  in  his  early  days. 
No  doubt  we  look  on  a  by-gone  age  with  some  preju- 
dice in  its  favor.  A  soft  transparent  haze  mellows  the 
picture  of  memory  ;  perhaps  fancy,  unconscious  of  illu- 
sion, adds  some  enriching  tints  of  its  own.  How  more 
than  halcyon  were  the  times  of  the  Confessor  as  seen 
from  the  distance  of  the  reign  of  Rufus  !  Yet,  after 
all,  there  was  much  of  truth  in  the  Saxon's  estimate  of 
a  former  generation  as  happier  than  his  own.  So,  un- 
questionably, there  is  truth  in  the  review  of  the  state  of 
primitive  Nonconformity,  on  which  Watts  dwells  with 
so  much  delight.  No  doubt  he  refers  mainly  to  an 
earlier  period  than  that  embraced  within  this  introduc- 
tory chapter,  yet  the  light  and  beauty  of  Puritanism's 
autumn  day  could  not  have  expired  while  Owen,  Bax- 
ter, and  Howe  survived. 

"  Our  ancestors,  the  Puritans  and  Nonconformists," 
remarks  Dr.  Watts,  in  his  "  Humble  Attempt  towards 

*  Bogue  and  Bennet's  History,  vol.  ii.  p.  272. 


40  DISSENT    IN    THE    REIGN    OF    WILLIAM    III. 

the  revival  of  practical  religion,"  "  distinguished  them- 
selves by  their  great  reverence  of  the  name  of  God,  and 
keeping  a  holy  jealousy  and  watchfulness  over  their 
words,  lest  they  took  that  holy  name  in  vain." — "  They 
were  much  distinguished  from  the  bulk  of  the  nation  by 
observing  the  Lord's  day  with  greater  strictness." — Re- 
ligious discourse  and  conference  upon  themes  of  virtue 
and  practical  godliness  was  another  thing  whereby  Dis- 
senters heretofore  were  used  to  distinguish  themselves." 
— "  They  distinguished  themselves  from  many  of  their 
neighbors  in  the  towns  and  villages  where  the}r  lived, 
by  keeping  more  regular  hours  for  the  various  duties  to 
God  and  man ;  in  abstaining  from  vain  company  and 
much  wine ;  in  preserving  better  order  in  families,  and 
in  a  more  religious  concern  in  governing  their  house- 
holds ;  in  maintaining  the  daily  worship  of  God,  and 
in  training  up  their  children  and  servants  to  the  knowl- 
edge and  fear  of  God." — "  May  I  mention  frugality  in 
expenses  and  industry  in  their  particular  callings  as  a 
remarkable  pair  of  virtues  among  our  predecessors  ?" — 
"  I  proceed  now  to  the  last  thing  wherein  the  Protestant 
Dissenters  were  wont  eminently  to  distinguish  them- 
selves, and  that  is  in  their  abstaining  from  those  gayer 
vanities  and  dangerous  diversions  of  their  age,  which 
border  so  near  upon  vice  and  irreligion,  that  sometimes 
it  is  pretty  hard  to  separate  them."  In  these  respects 
as  in  others,  modern  Dissenters  may  learn  some  im- 
portant and  needful  lessons  from  their  fathers. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Doddridge's   early   days. 

The  city  of  London  must  have  been  the  scene  of  no 
small  political  excitement  in  the  summer  of  1*702. 
William  III.,  whose  policy  abroad  was  to  check  the  am- 
bitious projects  of  Louis  XIV.,  and  the  object  of  whose 
administration  at  home  was,  by  establishing*  the  prin- 
ciples of  the  Revolution,  to  give  stability  to  the  throne, 
and  freedom  to  the  people,  had,  in  the  early  spring  of 
that  year,  gone  down  to  the  grave.  His  sister-in-law, 
Anne,  had  just  succeeded  him,  with  a  determination,  in- 
deed, to  carry  on  the  great  continental  war,  but  showing, 
by  her  tory  principles,  and  high-church  predilections, 
that  she  was  inclined  to  depress  the  cause  of  civil  and 
religious  liberty.  We  can  easily  imagine  how  the  Lon- 
don citizens  of  that  year,  as  they  paced  the  arcades  of 
the  Exchange,  or  sat  in  their  wainscotted  parlors,  would 
eagerly  discuss  topics  so  intimately  connected  with  the 
fate  of  the  nation  :  nor  could  the  Dissenters  fail  to  par- 
ticipate deeply  in  the  prevailing  excitement,  especially 
as  over  their  prospects  events  rolled  like  lowering  clouds. 


42  doddridge's  early  days. 

The  three  denominations  had  with  rather  heavy  hearts 
gone  up  to  court  to  present  an  address  to  the  new 
sovereign,  while  their  ears  were  assailed  by  rumors  that 
meeting-houses  would  shortly  be  pulled  down  ;  and  they 
were  told  of  one  already  attacked  at  Newcastle-under- 
Lyne.  Watts,  then  the  new  successor  of  Dr.  Chauncey 
in  Mark  Lane,  had  just  poured  forth  a  laudatory  dirge 
over  the  hero  of  the  Revolution  ; — Burgess  was,  probably, 
with  increased  earnestness,  denouncing  from  his  pulpit 
in  Brydges  Street,  Covent  Garden,  all  Jacobinism  and 
tyranny; — Howe  was  continuing  his  pure  and  lofty 
ministrations  in  Silver  Street,  a  little  ruffled  by  Defoe's 
rough  attempt  to  plunge  him  into  a  dispute  touching 
occasional  conformity ; — Calamy,  co-pastor  with  Dr. 
Williams  in  Hand  Alley,  Bishopsgate  Street,  already  an 
ecclesiastical  annalist,  was  recording  in  his  diary  some 
rather  doleful  memoranda ; — when,  two  days  after  mid- 
summer, a  gentle  spirit  entered  the  world,  designed  by 
Providence  to  rank  with  the  first  named  of  those  four 
worthies  in  noble  fellowship  of  effort  for  the  revival  of 
spiritual  religion  in  connection  with  Protestant  dissent. 
When  Watts  had  attained  his  twenty-seventh  year, 
Doddridge  was  born.  His  birth-place  was  some  un- 
known house  in  the  labyrinth  of  London  streets,  where 
his  father  profitably  plied  the  trade  of  an  oilman.  The 
worthy  shopkeeper  was  united  to  the  daughter  of  a  Bo- 
hemian clergyman,  who  had  been  expelled  from  his 
native  country  as  early  as  1G2G,  and  was  for  some  time 


Doddridge's  early  days.  43 

master  of  the  Free  School  at  Kmgston-upon-Thames. 
From  this  union  sprang-  a  family  of  twenty,  of  whom 
the  boy  named  Philip  was  the  last.  So  feeble  was  the 
spark  of  life  in  the  infant  child,  that  he  wras  at  first  laid 
aside  as  dead,  and  the  constitution  thus  originally  deli- 
cate in  the  extreme  never  attained  to  robustness.  Hence 
Doddridge's  life  wras  one  of  a  thousand  proofs  how  much 
of  mental  and  spiritual  energy  may  be  lodged  in  a 
physical  frame,  frail  to  a  great  degree. 

His  mother  was  a  woman  of  singular  good  sense  and 
piety.  Like  the  mother  of  Alfred,  who  enticed  her  boy 
to  the  study  of  letters  by  exhibiting  before  him  the  pic- 
tures of  an  illuminated  missal,  Mrs.  Doddridge  en- 
couraged the  child  of  her  age  in  the  study  of  Scripture 
history,  by  pointing  out,  and  amplifying,  with  a  mother's 
loving  simplicity  and  graphic  power,  the  scenes  of  Holy 
Writ  depicted  on  the  blue  Dutch  tiles,  which,  according 
to  the  fashion  of  the  day,  lined  the  chimney  corner. 
That  domestic  incident  has  long  been  looked  on  as  a 
sort  of  poetic  legend  in  Nonconformist  biography,  as  it 
well  may,  when  one  remembers  that  the  little  fellow, 
leaning  on  his  mother's  knee,  and  following  the  direction 
of  her  finger,  and  listening  to  her  simple,  easy  words, 
was  the  destined  author  of  the  "Family  Expositor." 
Nor  can  we  doubt  that,  as  he  sat  on  the  hearth-ruo;  bv 
the  winters  fire,  she  would  tell  of  ancestral  names  and 
deeds,  and  how  her  good  father  suffered  for  conscience' 
sake,  and   withdrew  from   Prague   by  stealth,  in  the 


44  doddridge's  early  days. 

habit  of  a  peasant,  -with  a  hundred  pieces  of  gold  plaited 
in  his  leathern  girdle,  and  a  copy  of  Luther's  Bible  in 
his  pocket.  The  son  inherited  the  old  book,  and  kept  it 
as  a  holy  heir-loom.  With  the  girdle  a  curious  story 
was  associated,  which  the  mother,  in  some  of  her  pleas- 
ant talks  at  eventide,  would  love  to  tell.  We  think  we 
hear  her  relating  how  the  refugee,  the  first  night  after 
his  escape,  left  it  at  an  inn  on  the  road,  and,  discovering 
the  loss,  went  back  in  suspense  to  seek  for  his  treasure ; 
and  how  the  servant  had  thrown  it  away  amongst  some 
lumber,  supposing  it  of  no  value,  and  had  forgotten 
where  it  was ;  and  then,  how,  induced  by  the  promise 
of  reward,  she  searched  for  it,  and  found  it  in  a  cupboard 
under  the  staircase,  and  restored  the  girdle,  to  the 
owner's  no  small  joy.  And  we  cannot  help  imagining, 
as  she  went  on  to  remark  how  the  sufferer  for  conscience' 
sake  regarded  himself  in  this  event  as  under  the  care  of 
a  gracious  Providence,  that  thereby  were  sown  the  seeds 
of  that  love  of  religious  liberty,  and  that  trust  in  Divine 
guardianship,  which  were  such  powerful  elements  in 
Doddridge's  character. 

On  the  paternal  side,  too,  there  were  memorials  of 
worth.  His  grandfather  was  John  Doddridge,  one  of 
the  ejected  ministers.  Speaking  of  this  ancestor,  in  a 
letter  to  a  friend,  he  observes : — u  He  had  a  family  of 
ten  children  unprovided  for ;  but  he  quitted  his  living,* 
which  was  worth  to  him  about  two  hundred  pounds  per 

*  Shepperton,  Middlesex. 


Doddridge's  early  days.  45 

annum,  rather  than  lie  would  violate  his  conscience  in 
the  manner  he  must  have  done,  by  submitting  to  the 
subscriptions  and  declarations  required,  and  the  usages 
imposed  by  the  Act  of  Uniformity,  contrived  by  some 
wicked  politicians  to  serve  their  own  interest,  and  most 
effectually  humble  those  who  had  been  most  active  in 
that  general  struggle  for  public  liberty  in  which  the 
family  of  the  Stuarts  had  fallen."  Calamy,  in  his  bead- 
roll  of  Bartholomew  confessors,  marks  down  this  worthy 
as  "an  ingenious  man,  and  a  scholar,  an  acceptable 
preacher,  and  a  very  peaceable  divine."  In  addition  to 
which,  Orton  assures  us  that  he  had  seen  some  of  his 
sermons,  which  were  "judicious  and  serious."  In  a 
collateral  branch  of  the  same  line  of  ancestry  was  Sir 
John  Doddridge,  one  of  the  judges  of  the  Court  of 
Kind's  Bench  in  the  reio-n  of  James  I.  To  his  le^al 
attainments  he  added  large  stores  of  general  erudition, 
which  are  duly  celebrated  amidst  the  rich  emblazonry 
of  his  quaint-looking  monument  in  Exeter  Cathedral, 
where,  as  Price  says,  in  his  "  Worthies  of  Devonshire," 
"  he  lieth  in  his  scarlet  robes,  with  a  court  roll  in  his 
hand."  A  scrap  from  one  of  his  speeches  indicates  his 
integrity  of  purpose,  though  we  grieve  to  say  it  was  de- 
livered in  defence  of  a  judgment  supporting  the  extreme 
prerogatives  claimed  by  his  misguided  and  unhappy 
sovereign  : — "  It  is  no  more  fit  for  a  judge  to  decline  to 
give  an  account  of  his  doings,  than  for  a  Christian  of  his 
faith.     God  knoweth  I  have  endeavored  to  keep  a  good 


46  doddridge's  early  days. 

conscience,  for  a  troubled  one  who  can  bear  ?  I  have 
now  sat  in  this  court  fifteen  years,  and  I  should  know 
something :  surely  if  I  had  gone  in  a  mill  so  long,  dust 
would  cleave  unto  my  clothes.  I  am  old,  and  have  one 
foot  in  the  grave;  therefore  will  I  look  to  the  better 
part  as  near  as  I  can.  But  '  omnia  habere  in  mernoria 
et  in  nullo  erraro  divinum  potius  est  quam  humanum?  " 
The  ancestral  legends  on  the  father's  side,  though  less 
romantic  and  exciting  than  those  on  the  mother's,  were 
still  of  a  nature  to  influence  an  ingenuous  mind  like 
young  Philip's,  and  to  spur  him  on  in  the  pursuit  of 
learning,  honor,  and  religion. 

Early  drilled  in  the  elements  of  literature  by  Mr. 
Stott,  a  long  since  forgotten  minister  who  kept  an  acad- 
emy in  London,  Doddridge  was  removed,  at  ten  years 
of  age,  to  Kingston,  to  study  within  the  walls  of  the  old 
Grammar  School,  where  his  good  grandfather  had  once 
been  master.  Mr.  Mayo  then  presided  over  the  estab- 
lishment, and  Doddridge,  in  a  note  to  one  of  his  ser- 
mons on  education,  expresses  his  gratitude  to  this  early 
preceptor,  for  the  advantages  he  derived  from  his  cate- 
chetical lectures,  and  for  many  "  excellent  instructions 
in  public  and  private."  After  he  had  spent  three  years 
at  Kingston,  he  lost  his  father,  and  soon  his  amiable 
mother  was  taken  away.  But  amidst  bereavements 
which  lacerated  his  tender  heart,  he  could  say,  "  God  is 
an  immortal  Father  ;  my  soul  rejoiceth  in  him  :  he  has 
hitherto  helped  me  and  provided  for  me ;  may  it  be 


Doddridge's  early  days.  47 

my  study  to  approve  myself  a  more  affectionate,  grate- 
ful, and  dutiful  child  I"  He  very  touchingly  observes, 
in  his  sermon  entitled  "  The  Orphan's  Hope,"  "  I  am 
under  some  peculiar  obligations  to  desire  and  attempt 
the  relief  of  orphans,  as  I  know  the  heart  of  an  orphan  : 
having  been  deprived  of  both  my  parents  at  an  age  in 
which  it  might  reasonably  be  supposed  a  child  should 
be  most  sensible  of  such  a  loss." 

In  the  old  town  of  St.  Alban's,  so  famed  for  the  re- 
mains of  its  noble  abbey,  there  lived,  in  1 7 1 7,  the  learned 
Mr.  Nathaniel  Wood,  who,  like  many  of  his  ministerial 
brethren  of  that  day,  had  to  betake  himself  to  the  du- 
ties of  a  schoolmaster  ;  and  in  the  same  place,  the  min- 
istrations at  the  Presbyterian  meeting-house  were  effi- 
ciently conducted  by  the  Rev.  Samuel  Clark,  the  author 
of  "  Scripture  Promises,"  a  gentleman  who,  with  ample 
means,  possessed  a  large  heart,  and  to  extensive  erudi- 
tion added  unaffected  piety.  Doddridge,  about  the 
time  of  his  father's  death,  was  placed  under  the  care  of 
that  reverend  tutor,  and  attended  the  ministry  of  that 
scholar-like  divine.  Being  painfully  reduced  in  circum- 
stances, by  the  imprudence  of  the  person  who  had  the 
control  of  his  pecuniary  affairs  after  his  father's  death, 
he  found  in  Mr.  Clark  a  friend  indeed  ;  for,  with  char- 
acteristic generosity,  that  excellent  man  became  a  second 
parent  to  the  forlorn  young  stranger,  and  assisted  him 
to  struggle  with  the  rough  necessities  of  his  orphan  lot. 
His  conduct  at  St.  Alban's  was  exemplary  ;  his  predilec- 


48  Doddridge's  early  days. 

tions  were  manifest.  In  his  diligent  study  of  the  Scrip- 
tures we  may  discover  an  early  pledge  of  the  future 
theological  professor  and  Biblical  critic ;  and  in  his 
painstaking  visits  to  the  poor,  for  their  religious  benefit, 
we  discern  an  early  prophecy  of  the  future  model  pastor 
of  Northampton.  No  doubt  being  entertained  of  his 
piety,  he  was  admitted  to  the  church  in  his  nineteenth 
year,  when  his  hallowed  ambition  to  become  one  of  the 
shepherds  of  Christ's  earthly  fold  began  to  manifest 
itself  with  unmistakable  distinctness.  An  offer  from  the 
Duchess  of  Bedford,  whose  husband's  steward  was 
Philip's  uncle,  presented  an  opening  into  the  Church  of 
England,  with  flattering  prospects  ;  but  such  an  offer, 
though  the  young  man  received  it  with  gratitude,  he 
felt  compelled  to  decline  with  respect,  as  he  could  not 
satisfy  his  conscience  to  comply  with  the  terms  of  min- 
isterial conformity.  To  preach  the  gospel  in  connection 
with  those  who  were  despised  by  the  proud  and  worldly, 
but  whom  he  honored  for  their  conscientiousness,  was 
his  fervent  desire.  But  the  way  in  that  direction  was 
for  awhile  closed  up  ;  and  the  writer  of  this  memorial 
can  well  remember,  how,  some  two-and-twenty  years 
ago,  he  read  this  portion  of  Doddridge's  instructive  his- 
tory, with  a  sympathetic  and  trembling  heart,  and  was 
not  a  little  strengthened  in  faith  and  hope,  as  probably 
many  others  in  like  manner  have  been,  by  the  successful 
issue  of  this  good  man's  early  trial.  The  youth  went  to 
town  with  a  palpitating  heart,  to  call  on  the  influential 


49 

and  dignified  Dr.  Calamy  for  advice  and  assistance,  but 
found  no  encouragement  in  that  quarter.  He  carried 
the  richest  buddings  of  promise,  but  returned  with  a 
cruel  blight  upon  his  hopes.  There  seemed  no  alterna- 
tive but  to  accept  a  lucrative  proposal,  made  to  him  by 
a  friend,  to  enter  on  the  study  of  the  law,  but  he  was 
unwilling  to  take  a  decisive  step  without  fervent  prayer ; 
and  while  on  his  knees,  the  postman's  thundering  knock 
announced  the  arrival  of  a  letter.  It  bore  the  hand- 
writing of  Mr.  Clark,  and  contained  an  offer  from  him 
to  receive  Doddridge  under  his  roof,  and  to  afford  him 
aid  in  preparatory  studies  for  that  holy  office  which  had 
kindled  in  him  such  pure  and  strong  desire.  We  fancy 
we  see  the  tall  and  delicate  youth,  with  ardent  counte- 
nance and  moistened  eyes,  folding  up  the  precious  epis- 
tle, and  sitting  down  to  write  in  his  diary,  "This  I 
looked  upon  almost  as  an  answer  from  heaven,  and 
while  I  live  shall  always  adore  so  seasonable  an  interpo- 
sition of  Divine  Providence.  I  have  sought  God's  direc- 
tion in  this  matter,  and  I  hope  I  have  had  it.  My  only 
view  in  my  choice  hath  been  that  of  more  extensive  ser- 
vice, and  I  beg  God  would  make  me  an  instrument  of 
doing:  much  o-ood  in  the  world." 

Next  to  the  honor  of  a  successful  ministry  itself,  is  the 
distinction  of  being  instrumental  in  the  introduction  of 
another  to  such  a  course ;  and  the  story  of  Doddridge 
should  be  regarded  as  a  caution  to  the  masters  of  our 
Israel,  not  hastily  to  repress  in  the  bosom  of  a  gifted 
E 


50  doddridge's  early  days. 

and  ingenuous  young  man  aspirations  after  the  holiest 
of  all  employments.  What  a  loss  would  the  church 
have  sustained  at  that  critical  period,  had  Calamy's  re- 
pulse not  been  neutralized  by  Clark's  encouragement ! 


CHAPTER  II. 

PREPARATORY     SCENES    AND    STUDIES. 

As  the  subject  of  this  memorial  was  intended,  by  the 
providence  of  God,  to  become  pre-eminently  distinguished 
as  a  divinity  professor,  it  seems  proper,  in  connection 
-with  the  commencement  of  his  student-life,  to  advert  to 
the  history  and  character  of  those  institutions  in  one  of 
which  he  received  his  ministerial  education.  Seminaries 
for  Dissenting*  students  had  not  then  attained  the  title 
of  colleges,  but  were  known  by  the  humbler  appellation 
of  academies,  and  were,  in  fact,  establishments  of  a  dif- 
ferent order  from  those  which  now  adorn  our  denomi- 
nation. Several  of  the  ministers  ejected  from  the 
Church  of  England  on  the  black  day  of  Bartholomew, 
were  as  distinguished  by  their  erudition  as  by  their 
piety.  With  attainments  which  would  have  fitted  them 
for  conspicuous  posts  in  the  republic  of  learning,  some 
of  them  were  glad,  for  the  sake  of  a  subsistence,  to  de- 
scend to  the  drudgery  of  initiating  boys  into  their  Greek 
and  Latin  accidence.  Ralph  Button,  Canon  of  Christ 
Church,  and  Orator  of  the  University  of  Oxford,  a  man 


52  PREPARATORY    SCENES    AND    STUDIES. 

of  illustrious  scholarship,  was  obliged,  in  order  to  buy 
his  daily  bread,  to  open  a  little  school,  and  that  stealthily, 
for  the  sons  of  his  friends,  first  at  the  town  of  Brentford, 
and  then  at  the  village  of  Islington  ;  and  the  great  Dr. 
Gale,  the  author  of  the  "  Court  of  the  Gentiles,"  in  like 
manner  sought  his  livelihood  by  performing  scholastic 
toils  in  a  sequestered  nook  of  the  then  rustic  Newington 
Green.*  Other  men  of  classic  taste  and  literary  skill, 
less  known  to  fame,  such  as  Mr.  Woodhouse,  Mr.  War- 
ren, Mr.  Morton,  Mr.  Franklin,  Mr.  Doolittle,  Mr.  Shut- 
tlewood,  and  Mr.  Veal,  had  their  private  establishments 
in  different  parts  of  the  country,  and  thus  blended  their 
instructions  in  the  learned  languages  with  the  higher 
teaching  of  Christian  theology,  shedding  over  the  whole 
the  soft  and  winning  light  of  a  holy  life.  They  educa- 
ted youths  for  secular  employments ;  and  at  first — just 
after  the  Restoration,  in  those  troublous  times  when  the 
walls  of  our  free  ecclesiastical  city  began  to  be  built, 

*  The  following  was  an  interesting  occurrence  in  the  life  of  this 
learned  worthy : — The  Restoration  having  stripped  him  of  his  pre- 
ferments, he  travelled  with  two  sons  of  Lord  Wharton.  On  his  re- 
turn to  England,  as  he  approached  London,  he  was  alarmed  with  the 
sight  of  the  city  in  flames.  Amidst  sympathy  for  the  sufferings  of 
others,  the  fear  of  personal  loss  rushed  into  his  mind.  He  had  left 
his  papers  in  the  possession  of  a  friend,  whose  house  he  soon  found 
to  he  involved  in  the  general  calamity.  But  he  was  delighted  widi 
the  grateful  tidings,  that  his  desk,  containing  the  labors  of  many 
years,  had  been  thrown  into  a  cart  as  an  article  just  sufficient  to 
make  up  the  load." — Bogue  and  Bennett's  History  of  Dissenters,  vol. 
i.  p.  325. — There  was  the  MS.  of  the  "  Court  of  the  Gentiles," — so 
near  was  that  monument  of  learning  to  the  ignoble  fate  which  con- 
sumed so  manv  other  treasures. 


PREPARATORY    SCENES    AND    STUDIES.  53 

and  the  prospects  of  Nonconformity  were  dark  and  for- 
bidding— this  seems  to  have  been  their  chief  design. 
But  as  the  Established  Church  showed  no  disposition  to 
conciliate,  as  the  cause  of  the  conscientious  dissentients 
grew  in  numbers  and  vigor, — as  congregations,  in  spite 
of  penal  enactments,  gathered  around  the  earnest-minded 
confessors  of  a  doubly-reformed  faith,  the  need  was  felt 
of  a  fresh  race  of  ministers  to  hand  down  to  another 
age  the  lighted  torch  of  liberty  and  truth.  The  houses 
of  these  instructors  gradually  became  schools  of  the 
prophets.  Few,  perhaps,  at  the  time  of  entering  under 
their  roof,  felt  what  we  should  recognize  as  a  sufficient 
call  to  the  Nonconformist  ministry ;  but  there,  in  the 
family  of  some  godlike  man,  through  the  influence  of 
that  wisdom  and  piety  which  watched  like  guardian 
and  inspiring  angels  over  their  opening  minds,  they 
were  gently  and  graciously  inclined  to  choose  that  voca- 
tion which,  away  from  the  paths  of  affluence  and  power, 
led  them,  through  humble  and  sorrowful  scenes,  to  the 
attainment  of  a  Divine  reward  and  immortal  honors. 
Not  originally,  and  by  design,  did  these  good  men,  in 
the  first  instance,  constitute  seminaries  for  the  express 
purpose  of  educating  men  for  the  Christian  ministry, 
but  gradually  the  boys'  school  came  to  assume  the  more 
important  character  of  a  ministerial  college.  And  for  a 
long  time,  up  to  Doddridge's  commencement  as  a  tutor, 
and  even  afterwards,  the  Nonconformist  academy  was 
an  affair  resting  entirely  on  the  personal  responsibility 

E* 


54  PREPARATORY    SCENES    AND    STUDIES. 

of  the  minister  who  conducted  it.  There  was  no  con- 
stituency, no  regular  subscribers,  no  council  or  commit- 
tee, but  the  entire  management  devolved  on  the  indi- 
vidual who  chose  to  open  his  house  for  the  reception  of 
pupils.  Payment  was  made  by  parents  and  friends.  In 
several  cases,  permanence  was  given  to  an  establishment 
by  a  succession  of  tutors ;  in  others,  it  ceased  when  the 
founder  died.  Nor  were  any  inquiries  instituted  re- 
specting the  personal  piety  of  the  young  men  admitted 
to  the  academies,  until  the  King's  Head  Society  was 
formed  in  1*730.  They  laid  down  as  a  general  principle, 
that  a  person  ought  to  be  a  Christian  before  he  was  ad- 
mitted to  be  a  student  in  divinity.  u  Plain  as  this 
principle  is,  it  will  not  be  found  in  the  voluminous  pages 
of  ecclesiastical  history  that  it  was  ever  acted  on  in  any 
age,  or  in  any  part  of  the  Christian  church,  till  the  King's 
Head  Society  made  it  the  ground-work  of  their  plan."* 
As  Nonconformist  ministers,  before  the  Revolution, 
were  constantly  subject  to  the  oppression  of  the  govern- 
ment, it  is  no  wonder  that  in  their  capacity  as  tutors 
they  were  liable  to  molestation.  Button  was  sent  to 
gaol  for  three  months.  Morton  was  harassed  by  eccle- 
siastical processes,  and  finally  compelled  to  abandon  his 
academy  altogether.  Even  the  accession  of  the  Prince 
of  Orange,  which  brought  toleration  to  the  pastor  of  a 
N onconformist  church,  left  the  head  of  a  Nonconformist 
seminary  open  to  vexatious  proceedings.     An  attempt 

*  Some  farther  notice  will  be  found  of  this  Society  in  the  Postscript. 


PREPARATORY    SCENES    AND    STUDIES.  55 

was  made  after  the  Revolution  to  suppress  Mr.  Frank- 
land's  academy  in  the  north,  which  from  the  beginning 
spent  a  migratory  sort  of  existence ;  being  driven  about 
from  place  to  place  by  the  stormy  weather  of  persecu- 
tion. Sharp,  Archbishop  of  York,  was  requested  by 
some  of  the  clergy  to  crush  the  good  man's  work.  He 
consulted  Tillotson  as  to  the  best  method  of  procedure, 
and  received  this  reply  : — "  His  instructing  young  men 
in  so  public  a  manner  in  university  learning,  is  contrary 
to  his  oath  to  do,  if  he  hath  taken  a  degree  in  either  of 
our  universities,  and,  I  doubt,  contrary  to  the  bishop's 
oath  to  grant  him  a  license  for  doing  it ;  so  that  your 
Grace  does  not,  in  this  matte]*,  consider  him  at  all  as  a 
Dissenter.  This  I  only  offer  to  your  Grace  as  what 
seems  to  me  the  fairest  and  softest  way  of  ridding  your 
hands  of  this  business.'"''  To  explain  this  advice,  it  is 
proper  we  should  remark,  that  in  the  middle  ages,  fac- 
tions arose  at  Oxford  and  Cambridge,  and  hosts  of  stu- 
dents, under  some  favorite  professors,  would  march  off 
to  Northampton  or  Stamford,  to  set  up  rival  schools  and 
grant  degrees.  Hence  an  oath  came  to  be  required  of 
the  university  graduates,  to  the  effect  that,  in  no  other 
places  than  in  those  favored  retreats  on  the  Isis  and  the 
Cam,  would  they  ever  establish  a  scholastic  lecture.  It 
was  in  harmony  with  Tillotson's  characteristic  wariness 
to  give  such  cautious  counsel,  but  it  was  hardly  worthy 
of  his  reputation  for  gentleness  and  catholicity,  to  put 

*  Life  of  Archbishop  Sharp,  vol.  i.  p.  359. 


56  PREPARATORY    SCENES    AND    STUDIES. 

the  disconcerted  prelate  up  to  the  trick  of  masking  the 
batteries  of  intolerance,  under  the  specious  cover  of  an- 
tiquated and  obsolete  precedents.  The  academies  were 
also  assailed  from  the  press ;  and  one  grieves  to  see  the 
name  of  Samuel  Wesley,  the  father  of  John,  appended 
to  a  pamphlet,  dated  1703,  entitled,  "A  Letter  from  a 
Country  Divine  to  his  Friend  in  London,  concerning  the 
Education  of  the  Dissenters  in  their  Private  Academies 
in  several  Parts  of  the  Nation  ;"*  containing  an  attack 
as  unjust  as  it  is  virulent.  He  depreciates  the  learning, 
and  impugns  the  loyalty  of  the  Dissenters,  at  the  same 
time  traducing  their  schools  as  nurseries  of  immorality 
and  irreligion.  This  course  was  the  more  abominable, 
from  his  having  been  formerly  a  Dissenter  himself,  and 
one  which  received  a  merited  exposure,  and  a  truthful 
condemnation,  in  the  reply  written  by  Samuel  Palmer, 
of  Southwark.  But  Nonconformist  seminaries  only  mul- 
tiplied and  prospered  under  these  assaults,  when,  in 
1714,  the  unprincipled  Bolingbroke,  on  the  eve  of  his 
fall,  planned  the  infamous  Schism  Bill,  Atterbury,  the 
Corypheus  of  the  high  church  fanatics,  sitting  at  his 

*  Mr.  Wesley  after  this  defended  his  first  pamphlet,  which  was 
followed  by  a  second  reply  from  Mr.  Palmer :  to  this  Mr.  Wesley 
published  a  rejoinder.  Dr.  Calamy  notices  the  controversy,  and 
says  : — "  Mr.  Wesley,  after  his  conforming,  drew  up  and  published  a 
letter  concerning  the  education  of  the  Dissenters  in  their  private 
academies.  Mr.  S.  Palmer  writing  in  defence  of  the  Dissenters, 
(though  he  himself  thought  fit  afterwards  to  desert  them  and  turn  con- 
formist) Mr.  W.  wrote  a  reply,  and  discovered  an  unbecoming  bitter- 
ness towards  his  quondam  friends."' — Life,  vol.  ii.  p.  505. 


PREPARATORY    SCENES    AND    STUDIES.  5  7 

elbow  helping  in  the  concoction.  ■  It  was  to  prevent  any 
one  in  Great  Britain  from  keeping  public  or  private 
schools,  or  acting  as  tutor  at  all,  without  subscribing  a 
declaration  of  conformity,  and  obtaining  a  license  from 
a  bishop.  To  make  the  provision  most  effectual,  the 
license  was  not  to  be  granted  until  the  party  produced  a 
certificate  of  having  received  the  sacrament  in  the 
Church  of  England,  within  the  last  year,  and  taken  the 
oaths  of  allegiance  and  supremacy.  Violators  of  this 
law  were  to  be  committed  to  prison  without  bail.  This 
measure,  which  transferred  the  whole  education  of  the 
country  into  clerical  hands,  and  pointed  a  pistol  at  the 
throat  of  religious  liberty,  was  actually  carried,  and  was 
to  be  put  in  operation  on  the  31st  of  August ;  but  poor 
Queen  Anne,  on  whose  frail  life  the  success  of  the  cause 
of  intolerance  had  come  to  depend,  died  that  very  day. 
The  act  remained  a  dead  letter,  and  was  repealed  a  few 
years  afterwards. 

The  character  of  the  education  given  to  candidates  for 
the  ministry  in  these  institutions  may  be  inferred  from 
the  pre-requisites  for  ordination  noticed  by  Samuel  Pal- 
mer. The  young  man  had  to  undergo  an  examination 
in  the  learned  languages,  in  logic,  ethics,  and  meta- 
physics. He  was  to  defend  a  thesis  in  Latin,  and  the 
examiners,  we  are  informed,  put  "  nice  and  curious  ques- 
tions," and  required  grammatical  and  theological  criti- 
cisms on  difficult  places  in  the  Greek  Testament.  It  is 
rather  amusing  to  find  it  stated,  that  "  if  the  candidate 


£8  PREPARATORY    SCENES    AND    STUDIES. 

were  fearful  of  his  performance  in  Hebrew,  he  was  ad- 
mitted upon  his  promise  to  spend  a  year  in  the  study 
of  that  language."*  Seeker,  who  at  the  time  was  read- 
ing his  Greek  lessons  to  the  Presbyterian  minister  at 
Tewkesbury,  the  learned  Samuel  Jones,  details  a  very 
respectable  curriculum  as  he  gives  an  account  of  his 
studies  in  a  letter  to  Dr.  Watts,  little  thinking  that  he 
and  his  schoolfellow  Butler  were  one  day  to  have  their 
browTs  bedecked  with  mitres.f 

At  the  time  when  young  Doddridge  was  aiming  at 
the  ministry,  there  were  several  academies  in  existence. 
Henry  Grove,  who  retains  a  respectable,  though  not 
brilliant  place  in  our  theological  literature,  was,  in  con- 
nection with  Mr.  James,  pursuing  his  work  as  a  tutor 
amidst  the  scenery  of  Taunton,  a  town  not  less  dear  from 
its  association  with  Joseph  Alleine's  holy  memory,  than 
attractive  from  its  vale-embosomed  borders.  John  Rey- 
nolds, too,  whose  warm-souled  piety  threw  a  glow  over 
his  learning,  was,  with  Dr.  Gyles,  superintending  the 
studies  of  a  few  young  men  in  the  thrifty  borough  of 

Jo  JO 

Shrewsbury,  which  we  cannot  help  linking  with  the 
name  of  Orton,  Doddridge's  biographer: — and  Caleb 
Rotherham  was  just  beginning  the  same  kind  of  work 
at  Kendal ;  while  many  honorable  compeers  were  scat- 
tered up  and  down  the  country,  including  Moore,  of 

*  Defence  of  the  Dissenters'  Education,  1703,  p.  4. 
t  Jeremiah  Jones,  the  learned  author  of  the  "  Canon/' — often  con- 
founded with  Samuel  Jones, — was  a  fellow-student  with  Seeker. 


PREPARATORY    SCENES    AND    STUDIES.  59 

Bridgewater,  and  his  namesake  at  Watterfield ;  Tow- 
good,  of  Shepton  Mallett ;  Owen,  of  Warrington ;  and 
Hill,  of  Findern,  a  village  in  Derbyshire.  In  the 
Metropolis  there  were  at  that  time  two  academies — one 
existed,  even  then,  amidst  the  very  imacademic  scenes 
of  Hoxton — under  the  care  of  Dr.  Oldfield,  Mr.  Lorimer, 
and  Mr.  Capel.  Another  was  conducted  by  Dr.  Ridgely, 
the  famous  author  of  a  "  Body  of  Divinity,"  and  by  John 
Eames,  a  fellow  of  the  Royal  Society — a  friend  of  Sir 
Isaac  Xewton,  and  the  subject  of  an  eulogium  by  Watts, 
who  pronounced  him  the  most  learned  man  he  ever 
knew.  A  third  was  commenced  some  years  later,  by 
Dr.  Abraham  Taylor. 

In  addition  to  all  the  rest,  there  was  one  in  the  county 
of  Northampton,  in  the  quiet  village  of  Kibworth,  more 
quiet  now  than  ever,  since  railways  have  drawn  away 
its  intermitting  streams  of  coach  and  wao-on  traffic. 
The  master  of  the  seminary  was  John  Jennings,  brother 
of  David  Jennings,  of  Jewish  antiquarian  renown — 
himself  a  man  of  considerable  attainments  and  highly 
cultivated  taste,  whose  "  Two  Discourses  on  Preaching 
Christ,"  were  thought  worthy  by  two  English  prelates 
of  a  public  recommendation  in  their  charges  to  their 
clergy.*     In  the  straggling  street  of  Kibworth,  where, 

*  The  original  edition  of  these  sermons  was  published  in  1723, 
with  a  preface  by  Dr.  Watts,  from  which  the  following-  passage  is 
well  wortlw  of  being  transcribed  : — "  Let  us  consider  how  little  hath 
been  our  success  in  comparison  of  the  multitudes  converted  by  our 
fathers  in  the  days  of  their  ministry.    Hath  not  this  been  matter  of 


GO  PREPARATORY    SCENES    AND    STUDIES. 

amidst  rustic  dwellings,  a  few  aristocratic  abodes  lifted 
up  their  heads,  there  stood,  on  the  site  of  the  present 
Crown  Inn,  the  academic  dwelling  of  Mr.  Jennings ; 
close  to  which,  now  within  the  yard  of  the  hostelry,  is 
the  site  of  what  was  a  place  of  worship — probably  some 
barn-like  structure,  which  was  burnt  down  in  1759. 
There  Jennings  preached  to  his  pupils,  and  to  the  rustic 
church  and  congregation  of  which  he  was  pastor. 
Thither  Doddridge  travelled  from  St.  Albans,  as  the 
brown  leaves  were  falling  in  the  October  of  1*719,  and 
there  we  see  him  warmly  welcomed,  and  established  as 
a  student  in  what  he  calls  his  "  dear  light  garret  at 
Kibworth,"  commanding  a  lovely  prospect  of  fields 
from  which  had  just  been  reaped  the  fruits  of  Leicester- 
shire husbandry.  Mr.  Jennings  remained  at  Kibworth 
only  three  years  after  Doddridge  was  placed  under  his 

sore  complaint  these  many  years  past  ?  Now  it  is  worth  our  inquiry, 
whether  it  may  not  be  ascribed  to  the  absence  of  Christ  in  our  ser- 
mons? And  what  reason  indeed  can  we  have  to  expect  the  pres- 
ence and  influence  of  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  if  we  have  his  person,  his 
offices,  his  grace,  and  his  gospel,  out  of  our  discourses,  or  give  but  a 
slight  and  casual  hint  at  these  glorious  subjects,  which  ought  to  be 
our  daily  theme  ?  This  is  what  our  author  would  put  us  in  mind  of 
in  his  first  discourse.  And  perhaps  another  cause  of  our  want  of 
success  has  been  this — that  we  have  too  much  left  off  the  way  of  our 
forefathers,  in  distinguishing  the  character  of  our  hearers,  and  divi- 
ding the  word  aright  to  saints  and  sinners,  to  the  stupid  and  the  pro- 
fane, the  awakened  and  convinced,  the  mournful  and  penitent,  the 
presumptuous  and  obstinate,  the  deserted  and  despairing.  This 
method  appears  eminently  in  the  labors  of  a  former  agQ.  This  is  a 
great  part  of  what  the  second  discourse  here  recommends  to  us, 
under  the  title  of  Experimental  Preaching."  Doddridge,  no  doubt, 
owed  much  to  a  tutor  so  evangelical. 


PREPARATORY    SCENES    AND    STUDIES.  Gl 

care,  and  then  accepted  a  call  from  the  church  at  Hinck- 
ley. The  academy  was  removed  with  its  tutor,  and  in 
the  month  of  September,  1722,  we  find  the  young  stu- 
dent lamenting  the  change  of  scene,  especially  the  loss 
of  the  agreeable  retirements,  "  the  meadows  and  arbors" 
of  his  former  abode  ;  for  Mr.  Jennings  was  a  man  of 
taste  in  horticulture  as  well  as  literature,  and  had  made 
the  garden  at  Kib worth  "  a  right  pleasant  place,"  ac- 
cording to  the  fashion  of  the  times.  But  in  January  of 
the  next  year,  we  see  the  young  student  snugly  ensconced 
by  the  fireside  in  the  best  chamber  of  the  new  house, 
dotting  down,  in  one  of  his  letters,  an  inventory  of  his 
furniture — "  a  blue  camlet  bed" — "  an  elbow  chair" — 
"  half  a  dozen  little  ones" — "  a  black  table,  a  chest  of 
drawers,  and  a  large  looking-glass."  He  is  dressed  in 
a  dark  "  blue  calimanco  gown,"  of  "  eighteen  pence  a 
yard,"  which  has  "  lasted  a  couple  of  years,"  and  been 
"  turned  and  mended  a  good  many  times."  He  has 
just  exchanged  an  old  Hebrew  Bible,  in  a  very  tattered 
and  scurvy  condition,  for  a  perfect  copy,  which,  with 
Spanheim's  "  Eleuchus,"  and  Dupin's  "  Ecclesiastical 
History,"  also  newly  added  to  his  little  book  stock,  is 
gladdening  his  heart  as  with  the  joy  of  one  who  findeth 
spoil.  A  most  indefatigable  pupil  in  his  academic 
preparations  ;  studying  the  classics,  and  the  original 
Scriptures,  with  taste  and  accuracy  ;  commenting  upon 
Homer,  and  annotating  on  the  Testaments  New  and 
Old,  he  also  manages  to  read,  in  the  short  space  of  six 
F 


62  PREPARATORY    SCENES    AND    STUDIES. 

months,  as  many  as  sixty  volumes,  including  Patrick's 
"  Commentary,"  Tillotson's  "Works,  and  the  "  Boyle 
Lectures."  And,  for  the  comfort  now  of  poor  students 
be  it  told,  he  is  far  from  being  flush  with  money,  and 
sorrowfully  records  how  four  guineas  have  just  melted 
away — the  half  gone  in  articles  of  dress — the  greatest 
part  of  another  in  necessary  journeys,  one  to  Leicester, 
to  take  the  oaths,  and  subscribe  the  articles,  which  cost 
six  shillings,  and  another  to  Mount  Sorrel  to  a  meeting 
of  ministers.  But  Doddridge,  while  in  circumstances  he 
answered  the  description,  in  spirit  practised  the  advice 
of  the  Roman  poet — 

"Rebus  angustis  animosus  atqne 
Fortis  adpare." 

He  bore  up  against  pecuniary  difficulties ;  and,  what 
is  especially  worthy  of  note,  he  so  husbanded  with  wise 
economy  his  little  stores,  as  to  avoid  the  burden,  and 
escape  the  disgrace,  of  debts  he  could  not  pay.  Of  his 
student  life  he  would  often  talk,  in  after-days,  to  Mrs. 
Doddridge,  in  the  quiet  parlor  at  Northampton,  by  the 
snug  fire  on  a  winters  night,  and  she,  treasuring  up  all 
such  precious  reminiscences,  after  she  had, lost  the  light 
of  her  dwelling,  thus  writes  to  Job  Orton,  who  was  pre- 
paring his  Memoirs  : — "  Some  spice  too,  you  will  find, 
I  have  sent  of  his  exact  manner  of  keeping  his  accounts, 
to  which  permit  me  to  add,  that  I  have  often  heard  him 
say,  that  during  the  years  he  was  at  school,  and  after- 


PREPARATORY    SCENES    AND    STUDIES.  63 

wards  a  pupil,  he  never  contracted  any  debts,  and  though 
his  income  was  small,  he  never  wanted  money,  but  at 
the  close  of  every  year  had  always  some  cash  in  hand — 
that  he  always  made  it  a  rule  to  content  himself  with 
the  table  kept  for  the  family,  and  never  spent  any  money 
either  in  wine  or  tea,  or  any  other  unnecessary  expense."* 
Unaffected  courtesy  was  blended  with  literary  refine- 
ment, and  the  poor  student  could  hardly  be  mistaken 
for  anything  but  what  he  was, — the  polished  gentleman. 
Overtaken  one  day  by  bad  weather  at  Newport  Pagnell, 
he  called  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Hunt,  the  pastor  of  the 
dissenting  church  there,  when  his  son,  struck  with  the 
interesting  appearance  and  bland  manners  of  the  visitor, 
offered  him  the  loan  of  a  great-coat.  Mrs.  Hunt,  good 
careful  soul,  questioned  the  wisdom  of  putting  such  gen- 
erous confidence  in  an  unaccredited  stranger ;  but  the 
son,  who  could  read  character  better  than  the  mother, 
replied,  "  I  am  sure  he  is  a  gentleman  and  a  scholar." 
The  answer  was  overheard  by  Doddridge,  and  he  never 
forgot  this  expression  of  his  new  friend's  trustfulness, 
and  this  reward  of  his  own  courteous  demeanor.  An 
intimacy  sprung  up  between  him  and  young  Hunt,  who 
succeeded  Ins  father  in  the  ministry  at  Newport  The 
town  became  a  place  of  interest  to  Doddridge,  and  after 
he  attained  to  celebrity  an  opportunity  offered  for  show- 
ing a  practical  concern  for  the  welfare  of  the  church. 
"  The  meeting-house  having  been  erected  on  an  estate 
*  MS.  letters  in  the  possession  of  Charles  Reed,  Esq. 


G4  PREPARATORY    SCENES    AND    STUDIES. 

which  was  the  property  of  one  of  the  principal  people 
in  the  congregation,  no  conveyance  of  the  ground  on 
which  it  stood  had  ever  been  made  to  proper  trustees, 
and  the  owner  of  the  estate  becoming  a  bankrupt,  it 
was  seized  by  the  creditors;  this  was  in  1*740.  Dr. 
Doddridge  then  generously  came  forward  and  purchased 
the  meeting  of  them  and  conveyed  it  to  proper  trustees, 
and  by  his  zeal  and  influence  the  money  was  soon 
raised."* 

After  being  examined  by  Mr.  Some,  Mr.  Bridger,  and 
Mr.  Norris,  three  neighboring  ministers  remarkable  alike 
for  learning  and  good  sense,  as  well  as  for  candor  and 
catholicity,  Doddridge  received  a  certificate  of  satisfac- 
tion, and  in  July  22d,  1*722,  began  to  preach.  The  first 
sermon  is  a  grand  epoch  in  ministerial  life,  and  in  the 
case  of  a  successful  preacher  is  reviewed  by  himself  and 
his  friends  with  intense  interest  in  all  after-years.  The 
scene  of  early  effort  becomes  clustered  round  with  sacred 
associations ;  and  if  fruit  speedily  appear,  "  and  the 
treader  of  grapes  overtaketh  him  that  soweth  seed," 
sweet  is  the  song  and  rich  is  the  joy  of  the  vintage.  In 
the  present  instance  we  can  picture  the  place  and  trace 
the  result.  Nichols,  in  his  "History  of  Leicestershire," 
tells  us  of  the  old  meeting-house  at  Hinckley,  and  states, 
that  behind  the  pulpit,  and  on  either  side,  are  two 
small  galleries  not  unlike  the  boxes  of  a  playhouse,  pur- 

*  Brief  Narrative  of  the  Independent  Church  at  Newport  Pagnell, 
by  the  Rev.  T.  P.  Bull. 


PREPARATORY    SCENES    AND    STUDIES.  65 

posely  designed  for  Mr.  Jennings'  pupils,  the  rest  of  the 
building  being  on  the  model  of  the  old  meeting-houses 
a  hundred  and  thirty  years  ago.  The  building  still 
exists.  It  is  now  occupied  by  Unitarians.  There  Dodd- 
ridge first  preached  the  gospel  from  the  words,  "  If  any 
man  love  not  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  let  him  be  anathema, 
maranatha."  The  result  is  recorded  by  himself : — "  I 
find  in  his  diary,"  says  Orton,  "that  two  persons  as- 
cribed their  conversion  to  the  blessing  of  God  attending 
that  sermon,  with  which  he  appears  to  have  been  much 
affected  and  encouraged." 

As  the  termination  of  his  studies  at  Hinckley  ap- 
proached, he  had  two  settlements  offered,  one  at  Coven- 
try, over  a  congregation  of  1200  people,  and  one  atKib- 
worth,  over  his  tutor's  former  flock.  He  chose  the 
latter.  Orton  justly  observes,  that  ministers  in  general 
have  been  too  unwilling,  even  at  their  entrance  on  their 
work,  to  live  or  preach  in  small  country  places  ;  but 
Doddridge  afterwards  reflected  with  pleasure,  that  he 
had  spent  so  many  years  in  a  country  retirement.  How 
very  different  might  have  been  his  career  had  he  re- 
solved to  plunge  at  once  into  ministerial  publicity,  in- 
stead of  laying  up  in  retirement  large  stores  for  future 
usefulness.  The  professor,  expositor,  and  divine  might 
have  been  lost  amidst  a  limited  and  ephemeral  popu- 
larity. 

In  one  of  his  merry  moods  he  describes  his  congrega- 
tion as  the  most  unpolite  he  ever  knew,  consisting  of 

F* 


66  PREPARATORY    SCENES    AND    STUDIES. 

farmers  and  graziers,  and  their  subaltern  officers.  UI 
have  not,"  he  adds,  "  so  much  as  a  tea  table*  in  my 
whole  diocese,  although  above  eight  miles  in  extent,  and 
but  one  hoop  petticoat  within  the  whole  circuit."  In  a 
graver  hour,  he  tells  a  friend,  "  I  am  now  with  a  plain, 
honest,  serious,  good-natured  people  ;  I  heartily  love 
them  myself,  and  I  meet  with  genuine  expressions  of  an 
undissembled  affection  on  their  side.  I  would  hope  that 
God  is  among  us,  and  I  desire  to  mention  it  with  a  great 
deal  of  thankfulness,  that  I  already  see  some  encouraging 
effects  of  my  poor  attempts  to  serve  them.  I  do  not  go 
very  much  abroad,  and  when  I  am  at  home  I  can  con- 
veniently spend  twelve  hours  a  day  in  my  study.  I 
have  now  many  good  books  of  my  own,  and  my  friends 
that  are  still  better  furnished,  are  very  ready  to  oblige 
me  with  the  use  of  theirs.  As  to  the  salary,  though  it 
does  not  certainly  amount  to  forty  pounds  a  year,  it  is  a 
tolerable  subsistence  for  a  single  man ;  and  I  believe  I 
shall  never  marry  while  I  stay  here." 

The  private  life  of  Doddridge,  during  his  pastoral 
novitiate,  is  fully  unveiled  to  the  world  in  his  published 
correspondence ;  and  we  not  only  follow  him  from  one 
rural  lodging  to  another — from  the  substantial  farmers' 
house  at  Stretton,  three  miles  from  Kibworth,  to  Burton 
Overy  with  its  chalybeate  springs,  and  back  again  to 
his  former  abode — we  not  only  see  him  preaching  in  his 
meeting-house,  or  rambling  in  his  garden,  or  hard  at 
*  The  use  of  tea  was  a  rare  luxury  in  those  days. 


PREPARATORY    SCENES    AND    STUDIES-  OV 

work  in  his  study — we  have  not  only  an  account  of  his 
most  trivial  affairs  and  adventures,  but  his  youthful 
thoughts  are  all  divulged.  Xo  heart,  throbbing  with 
early  affections,  without  wisdom  at  the  time  to  repress 
or  guide  their  boisterous  gushes,  was  ever  so  laid  bare 
to  the  broad  gaze  of  all  posterity.  The  result,  in  some 
quarters,  has  been  what  an  enemy  would  desire.  "  Seme 
of  his  letters,"  says  Croker,  u  have  been  recently  pub- 
lished, with  no  great  advantage  to  his  tame."  Ma- 
caulay  observes  of  Warren  Hastings,  that  the  splendor 
of  his  lame  would  bear  many  spots.  Without  subscrib- 
ing to  the  doctrine  that  virtue  can  afford  to  be  inconsis- 
tent, we  may  remark  of  Philip  Doddridge,  that  the 
blemishes  of  the  bud  may  well  be  forgotten  as  we  look 
at  the  beauty  of  the  opened  flower.  Still  there  are  few, 
we  apprehend,  who,  regarding  simply  the  interests  of 
literature  and  religion,  will  attempt  to  justify  the  printing 
indiscriminately  of  a  whole  mass  of  boyish  letters,  many 
written  in  strict  confidence  to  friends  of  his  own  age. 
Some  of  these  letters  exhibit  him  as  a  rather  gallant 
young  man,  according  to  the  fashion  of  that  period — 
addressing  certain  favorites  among  the  fair  under  roman- 
tic names,  sometimes  with  professions  of  regard  far  too 
ardent  to  be  deemed  platonic,  yet  evidently  not  meant 
to  express  that  passion  which  the  author  does  not  name, 
but  presumes  his  readers  know.  Other  letters  discover 
an  enthusiasm  of  feeling  not  to  be  mistaken.  The  whole 
indicate  that  our  voting  friend  was  sometimes  indiscreet, 


68  PREPARATORY    SCENES    AND    STUDIES. 

but  always  frank.  There  must  have  been  in  him  some 
lack  of  prudence,  or  he  never  would  have  carefully  pre- 
served copies  of  such  trifling  correspondence,  and  left 
them  to  his  descendants  as  an  heirloom  ;  though,  indeed, 
the  most  suspicious  of  mankind  could  hardly  have  im- 
agined that  any  one  would  ever  shoot  large  bundles  of 
such  productions  into  the  press,  to  be  set  up  in  type  for- 
ever. However,  here  the  letters  are.  An  excuse  for  the 
formal  style  of  many  of  them  may  be  found  in  the 
manners  of  the  early  part  of  the  Georgian  era,  well 
symbolized  by  broad  hoops  and  powdered  wigs  ;  and  so, 
also,  some  palliation  of  the  freedom  of  address  which 
appears  in  others,  may  be  found  in  that  less  restricted 
intercourse  of  the  sexes,  which  then  prevailed  from  the 
court  downwards.  Certain  of  them  exhibit  the  blossom- 
ing of  affections,  which,  after  the  gay  and  garish  leaves 
were  shed,  set  in  beautiful  and  mellow  fruit.  But  with 
these  qualifications  we  cannot  but  deeply  regret  that 
Doddridge's  warm  and  cheerful  heart  should  have  be- 
trayed him  into  some  imprudences ;  far  less,  perhaps, 
than  those  of  many  men,  who,  through  jealousy  of  their 
own  reputation,  or  forbearance  on  the  part  of  friends, 
have  had  their  juvenile  failings  prudently  covered  up 
and  concealed.  In  his  letters  and  diary,  at  a  subsequent 
date,  he  laments  his  early  errors.  It  is  very  interesting, 
in  connection  with  this  part  of  his  life,  to  read  the  fol- 
lowing extract  from  a  letter,  written  after  his  decease  by 
Mrs.  Doddridge  to  Job  Orton  : — 


PREPARATORY    SCENES    AND    STUDIES.  69 

"  We  were  neither  of  us  strangers  to  the  natural 
gaiety  of  his  temper,  which  sometimes  cast  a  shade  over 
his  otherwise  excellent  qualities  ;  and  these  things  may, 
perhaps,  be  vet  remembered  by  some,  when  those  may 
be  overlooked  and  forgot.  But  mingled,  as  I  fear  you 
will  find  his  early  diaries  and  other  papers,  with  thing's 
of  this  kind,  I  doubt  not  but  you  will  also  there  find 
those  seeds  of  piety,  which,  by  his  indefatigable  care, 
under  the  blessing  of  Heaven,  were  growing  up  and 
gradually  improved,  till  they  shone  out  with  such  bright 
and  distin o-uishino-  rays  ;  and  amidst  his  o-avest  scenes 
in  early  life,  will  here  be  found  the  foundations,  early 
laid,  for  those  important  and  extensive  schemes  of  his 
future  usefulness,  many  of  which,  by  the  Divine  favor, 
he  lived  to  execute,  and  others  (and  still  more,  perhaps) 
were  broken  off"."* 

It  should  be  added,  in  reference  to  the  collection  of 
his  early  letters,  that  there  are  many  of  them  which  in- 
dicate the  highest  excellence.  Some  are  written  with 
exquisite  propriety  and  beauty,  especially  one  to  a  Miss 
Horseman,  on  an  accident  she  had  met  with,  and  another 
to  a  young  lady  on  going  abroad.  A  few  of  the  earliest 
indicate  habits  of  theological  thinking,  eminently  vigor- 
ous and  clear. 

It  is  apparent,  from  Doddridge's  correspondence,  that 
he  was  not  at  first  in  perfect  sympathy  with  what  was 
called  the  orthodox  party  among  Dissenters.  The  Alias 
*  MS.  letters  in  the  possession  of  Charles  Reed,  Esq. 


70  PREPARATORY    SCENES    AXD    STUDIES. 

controversy  was  at  that  time  hotly  waged.  The  conten- 
tions at  Exeter  about  Mr.  Pearce,  and  the  debates  at 
Walters'  Hall  about  subscriptions,  excited  deep  interest 
far  and  near  ;  and,  in  some  quarters,  kindled  the  "  wrath 
of  man,  which  worketh  not  the  righteousness  of  God." 
Reports  of  a  violent  spirit  and  harsh  proceedings,  found 
occasionally  on  the  orthodox  side,  might  prejudice  a 
man  like  Doddridge  against  the  party,  though  he  ad- 
mitted in  the  main  their  distinctive  principles.  More- 
over, there  might  be  theories  entertained  about  the 
mode  of  the  Divine  existence ;  and  representations  made 
of  scripture  facts,  together  with  the  use  of  certain  cur- 
rent and  fondly-cherished  phrases,  which,  without  much 
wonder,  would  be  counted  exceptionable  by  a  thoughtful 
young  scholar,  encouraged  by  his  associates  to  indulge 
in  free  inquiry.  In  a  letter  quoted  by  Orton,  Doddridge 
refers  to  those  who  were  charged  with  heresy  ;  and  he 
candidly  acknowledges  that,  between  the  year  1723  and 
1730,  he  was  more  inclined  to  some  of  their  sentiments 
than  he  afterwards  became  ;  yet,  from  the  earliest  period, 
he  seems  to  have  kept  to  the  broad  outline  of  scripture 
truth,  and  refers,  in  his  diary,  to  "  the  atonement  and 
intercession  of  God's  dear  Son,"  and  to  the  "  powerful 
assistance  of  Almighty  grace."  The  evangelical  tone 
becomes  much  more  decided  and  pervading  after  the 
period  to  which  the  above  confession  relates. 

In  1725,  Doddridge  was  chosen  assistant  to  Mr.  Some, 
of  Market  Harborough,  but  continued  to  preach  at  Kib- 


PREPARATORY    SCENES    AND    STUDIES.  7  1 

worth  alternately  with  the  other  place.  A  new  kind  of 
employment  soon  followed.  He  had  been  a  favorite 
pupil  of  Jennings.  The  tutor  saw,  in  the  varied  talents 
and  extraordinary  diligence  of  his  young  friend,  the 
promise  of  future  eminence ;  and  wisely  considered,  in 
case  of  his  own  early  decease,  that  here  was  the  man  to 
perpetuate  and  improve  the  scheme  of  education  in 
which  he  had  been  trained.  That  excellent  person,  ac- 
cording to  a  presentiment  he  expressed,  was  cut  off  in 
the  midst  of  his  days.  Soon  afterwards,  a  paper  which 
Doddridge  had  written,  on  the  best  manner  of  conduct- 
ing the  studies  of  young  men  intended  for  the  ministry, 
coming  under  the  notice  of  Dr.  "Watts,  that  eminent 
divine,  together  with  other  individuals,  urgently  advised 
him  to  add  to  his  ministerial  employments  the  occupa- 
tion of  tutor.  Encouraged  by  Mr.  Some  and  Mr. 
Clarke, — formally  requested  by  a  meeting  of  ministers 
at  Lutterworth, — and  feeling  in  his  own  mind  a  convic- 
tion that  the  thing  was  of  God — that  it  was  a  special 
vocation  to  which  he  was  called  by  Providence — he  was 
resolved  to  enter  on  the  important  enterprise,  and,  ac- 
cordingly, opened  an  academy  at  Market  Harborough 
in  1729. 

It  is  amusing  to  observe,  in  the  Life  of  Dr.  Watts,  the 
statement  that,  in  looking  over  Doddridge's  paper  on  the 
qualifications  of  a  tutor,  the  former  suggested  whether  it 
might  not  be  better  that  the  tutor  should  remain  single. 
"  This  was  my  tutor's  practice,"  he  remarked ;  "  and, 


72  PREPARATORY    SCENES    AND    STUDIES. 

after  all,  if  it  be  possible  to  find  a  tutor  so  admirably 
qualified  as  the  author  describes,  it  is  five  hundred  to  one 
if  he  meet  with  the  one  only  pious,  prudent,  and  invalu- 
able partner."  The  chivalry  of  our  young  divine  fired 
up  at  this  ;  and  here  is  his  characteristic  annotation  on 
the  passage  : — "  In  answer  to  this  terrible  query,  I  must 
observe,  that  I  know  but  one  family  in  which  a  tutor 
and  his  pupils  could  conveniently  board ;  while  I  know 
half-a-dozen  of  the  fair  sex  who  do  in  the  main  answer 
the  necessary  character.  I  shall  probably  remain  single 
while  I  reside  here  ;  but  should  Providence  remove  me, 
I  shall  prefer  the  example  of  my  own  tutor,  whose  wis- 
dom and  happiness  I  knew,  to  that  of  the  Doctor's,  to 
whom  I  am  a  perfect  stranger." 

His  removal  from  Market  Harborough  was  now  not 
far  distant.  His  was  a  light  which  could  not  be  hid ; 
and  many  churches  coveted  the  waxing  luminary.  The 
Hertford  deacons,  who  must  have  been  ne  plus  ultra 
Nonconformists,  were  indeed,  when  sent  to  Kibworth  on 
a  mission  of  observation  and  discovery,  sadly  scanda- 
lized at  seeing  the  ten  commandments  written  on  the 
walls,  and  on  hearing  the  preacher  repeat  the  Lord's 
Prayer,  and  the  clerk  pronounce  a  sonorous  Amen. 
But,  from  London  and  Nottingham,  from  Pershore  and 
Brockfield  (near  North  Walsham),  came  urgent  calls  for 
the  privilege  of  his  teaching  and  oversight. 

Two  congregations  at  Nottingham  wished  to  have  his 
services.      This   greatly   perplexed    young   Doddridge. 


PREPARATORY    SCENES    AND    STUDIES.  73 

He,  with  his  usual  amiableness,  endeavored  to  avoid  dis- 
pleasing either  party,  and  sought,  if  possible,  to  heal  the 
breaches  existing  between  them ;  but  finally,  as  might 
have  been  expected,  he  missed  his  aim  altogether,  and 
abandoned  the  idea  of  settling  in  the  town.  I  have 
been  favored  by  my  friend,  the  Rev.  S.  McAll,  with  some 
extracts  from  the  Congregational  Church  books  of  that 
date,  which  show  how  very  sore  some  of  the  people 
were  at  the  loss  of  so  promising  a  candidate. 

But  He  who  holdeth  the  stars  in  his  rio-ht  hand,  had 
chosen  that  the  people  of  Northampton  should  walk  in 
the  light  of  an  orb  so  brilliant ;  and  therefore,  when  the 
invitation  was  sent  from  that  place,  after  deliberating 
three  months,  amidst  conflicting  ideas  of  duty, — the  love 
for  Harborough  matching  the  desire  for  Northampton, — 
he  decided  at  last  in  favor  of  the  latter,  his  fatherly  col- 
league in  the  former  church  coming  to  a  reluctant  ac- 
quiescence in  the  result. 

At  first  he  had  resolved  "  to  lay  down  his  good  friends 
at  Northampton  as  gently  as  he  could,"  but  subsequent 
events  altered  his  mind,  of  which  he  gives  the  following 
account : — 

"  Having  on  the  previous  Saturday  evening"  (Novem- 
ber, 1729)  "been  much  impressed  with 'the  tender  en- 
treaties of  my  friends,  in  my  secret  devotions  I  laid  the 
affair  before  God,  although  as  a  matter  almost  deter- 
mined in  the  negative  ;  appealing  to  Him,  that  my  chief 
reason  for  declining  the  call,  was  the  apprehension  of 


*74  PREPARATORY    SCENES    AND    STUDIES. 

engaging  in  more  business  than  I  was  capable  of  per- 
forming, considering  my  youth,  the  largeness  of  the  con- 
gregation, and  that  I  had  no  prospect  of  an  assistant. 
As  soon  as  this  address  was  ended,  I  passed  through  a 
room  of  the  house  in  which  I  lodged,  where  a  child  was 
reading  to  his  mother,  and  the  only  ivords  which  I 
heard  distinctly  were  these,  '  As  thy  days,  so  shall  thy 
strength  be?  These  words  were  strongly  impressed  upon 
my  mind,  and  remained  there  with  great  force  and 
sweetness  ;  yet  I  still  persisted  in  my  refusal.  But  that 
very  evening,  happening  to  be  in  the  company  of  Mr. 
Bunyan,  one  of  the  deacons  of  the  congregation,  he  en- 
gaged me  to  promise  to  preach  his  father's  funeral  ser- 
mon, from  a  particular  text,  upon  a  timely  notice  of  his 
death,  which  it  was  imagined  would  take  place  in  a 
few  weeks.  It  pleased  God  to  remove  him  that  night, 
which  kept  me  there  until  Wednesday.  In  the  mean 
time,  I  saw  those  appearances  of  a  serious  spirit  which 
could  not  but  be  very  affecting  to  me ;  many  persons, 
also,  attended  the  funeral  who  were  not  stated  hearers 
there,  and  expressed  the  greatest  satisfaction  in  my  la- 
bors, in  which  I  had  very  extraordinary  Divine  assist- 
ance. During  the  whole  of  this  interval  I  was  besieged 
by  the  friendly  importunities  of  the  congregation ;  and 
when,  before  I  went  away,  the  young  people  came  to  me 
in  a  body,  and  earnestly  entreated  me  to  come  among 
them,  promising  to  submit  to  all  such  methods  of  in- 
struction as  I  should  think  proper,  I  found  my  heart  so 


PREPARATORY    SCENES    AND    STUDIES.  io 

much  melted  with  their  affectionate  fervor,  that  I  was  no 
longer  master  of  myself,  and  agreed  to  take  the  affair 
into  consideration  again.  Upon  the  whole,  I  was  per- 
suaded in  my  conscience  that  it  was  my  duty  to  accept 
their  invitation ;  and  God  is  my  witness,  that  when  I  did 
accept  it,  which  was  on  the  Saturday  night  afterwards, 
it  was  with  the  utmost  reluctance.  I  acted,  indeed, 
without  the  advice  of  almost  any  of  my  friends,  and  di- 
rectly contrary  to  that  of  some  for  whom  I  had  a  very 
high  regard  ;  but  I  thought  myself  obliged  in  conscience 
to  act  according  to  my  own  views,  as  it  is  certain  that  I 
must  answer  for  myself  another  day."* 

*  Doddridge's  Correspondence,  vol.  iii.  p.  2. 


CHAPTER  III 


PUBLIC     CAREER, 


THE    MINISTER 


The  Congregational  church,  assembling  in  Castle-hill 
Meeting-house  was  organized  at  an  early  period.  It 
probably  owed  its  existence  to  the  ministry  of  Jeremiah 
Lewis,  incumbent  of  St.  Giles',  who  was  ejected  from 
that  parish  by  the  Act  of  Uniformity.  Mr.  Blower  was 
their  pastor  in  1694,  the  year  of  his  death,  having  been 
a  fellow  of  Magdalen  College,  Oxford,  and  having  sub- 
sequently held  the  living  of  Woodstock  :  he  was  also 
one  of  the  ejected  band  of  worthies.  The  name  of 
Thomas  Shepherd  next  occurs,  whose  term  of  service 
wras  short,  and  whose  history  is  buried  in  silence,*  save 
that  he  seems  to  have  been  a  prosperous  servant  of  his 
Divine  Master.  Under  his  pastorate  the  present  meet- 
ing-house was  erected,  on  a  plot  of  ground  near  Castle- 

*  The  ceremony  of  marriage  was  performed  in  those  days  by 
Nonconformists  :-- 

"  December  11. — I  married  Mr.  Buswell's  son  and  daughter,  of 
Kettering,  in  our  meeting-house. — Thomas  Shepherd. " 


THE    MINISTER.  i  i 

hill,  devastated  some  years  before  by  a  tremendous  fire, 
which  had  threatened  the  destruction  of  the  whole  town. 
The  labors  of  Mr.  Shepherd  terminated  in  1698,  and  he 
was  succeeded  by  Mr.  Hunt,  a  man  of  considerable  tal- 
ents, who,  in  1709,  removed  to  Newport  Pagnell,  and 
died  at  Tunstead,  in  Norfolk,  1730*  Mr.  Hunt's  re- 
moval was  an  exchange  with  the  minister  at  Newport ; 
for  Mr.  Thomas  Tingey,  previously  pastor  there,  was 
publicly  recognized  at  Northampton  on  the  2  2d  of 
February,  1709.  "He  was  an  evangelical  and  able 
minister,  and  very  zealously  exerted  himself,  even  be- 
yond his  strength,  to  preach  the  gospel  in  the  destitute 
towns  and  villages  around."f  Mr.  Tingey  removed  to 
London  in  1728.  It  was  on  this  vacancy  that  Philip 
Doddridge  was  elected  to  the  pastorate. 

He  was  ordained  on  the  19th  of  March,  1730.  "  The 
afflicting  hand  of  God  upon  me  hindered  me  from  mak- 
ing that  preparation  for  the  solemnity  of  this  day,  which 
I  could  otherwise  have  desired,  and  which  might  have 
answered  some  valuable  end.  However,  I  hope  it  hath 
long  been  my  sincere  desire  to  dedicate  myself  to  God 
in  the  work  of  the  ministry ;  and  that  the  views  with 
which  I  determined  to  undertake  the  office,  and  which 
I  this  day  solemnly  professed,  have  long  since  been  fixed. 
The  work  of  the  day  was  carried  on  in  a  very  honorable 

*  He  was  the  father  of  the  young-  man  mentioned  in  p.  57. 
t  See  interesting  account  of  the  History  of  the  Church  at  North- 
ampton, in  the  Congregational  Magazine  for  March  and  April,  1830. 


18  PUBLIC'    CAREER. 

and  agreeable  manner.  Mr.  Goodrich,  of  Oundle,  began 
with  prayer  and  reading  the  Scriptures.  Mr.  Dawson, 
of  "YVinehly,  continued  the  exercise.  Then  Mr.  Watson, 
of  Leicester,  preached  a  suitable  sermon  from  1  Tim.  iii. 
1  : — '  This  is  a  true  saying,  If  a  man  desire  the  office 
of  a  bishop,  he  desireth  a  good  work.'  Mr.  Xorris,  of 
Welford,  then  read  the  call  of  the  church,  of  which  I 
declared  my  acceptance.  He  took  my  confession  of 
faith  and  ordination  vows,  and  proceeded  to  set  me 
apart  by  prayer.  Mr.  Clark,  of  St.  Alban's,  gave  the 
charge  to  me,  and  Mr.  Saunders,  of  Kettering,  the  exhor- 
tation to  the  people.  Then  Mr.  Mattock,  of  Daventry, 
concluded  the  whole  solemnity  with  prayer." 

"  I  have  some  cheerful  hope,"  he  adds,  "  that  the 
God  to  whom  I  have  this  day  been  more  solemnly  than 
ever  devoting  my  service,  will  graciously  use  me,  either 
in  this  world  or  a  better ;  and  I  am  not  solicitous  about 
particular  circumstances,  where  or  how.  If  I  know 
anything  of  my  heart,  I  apprehend  I  may  adopt  the 
words  of  the  Apostle,  '  that  it  is  my  earnest  expectation 
and  my  hope,  that  in  nothing  I  shall  be  ashamed,  but 
that  Christ  shall  be  magnified,  whether  it  be  by  life  or 
by  death ;  that  to  me,  to  live  is  Christ,  and  to  die,  un- 
speakable gain.'  "*     His  ordination  day  he  ever  after- 

*  Orton's  Life  of  Doddridge,  p.  65. — The  following  is  a  copy  of 
the  certificate  of  his  ordination,  pasted,  probably  with  his  own  hand, 
in  his  own  copy  of  the  Expositor,  preserved  in  the  library  belonging 
to  the  Coward  Trust : — 

"  We  whose  names  are  hereto  subscribed  do  hereby  certify  all 


THE    MINISTER.  79 

wards  observed  with  peculiar  solemnity  in  his  secret 
devotions. 

His  entrance  on  the  Northampton  pastorate  dates  the 
beginning  of  a  second  book  in  his  spiritual  biography, 
far  nobler  than  the  first.  Though  we  do  not  think  that 
Doddridge's  heart  was  ever  the  seat  of  a  doubtful  piety, 
or  his  mind  of  an  order  to  become  under  any  circum- 
stances rusty  and  inactive,  yet  his  separation  now  from 
former  unfavorable  influences,  the  sense  of  augmented 
responsibility  attendant  upon  an  introduction  to  a  larger 
sphere,  and  especially  a  serious  illness  which  befell  him 
about  this  time,  seem  to  have  given  him  new  views  of 
spiritual  life  and  ministerial  labor.  The  lamp  of  godli- 
ness freshened  up  into  amazing  lustre  ;  and  his  energies 

whom  it  may  concern,  that  Mr.  Philip  Doddridge,  of  Northampton, 
having  addressed  himself  to  us,  Ministers  of  the  Gospel,  desiring  to 
he  ordained  a  Presbyter,  we,  being  sufficiently  assured  of  the  un- 
blamableness  of  his  conversation,  and  proficiency  in  his  studies,  pro- 
ceeded solemnly  to  set  him  apart  to  the  office  of  the  ministry,  and  the 
pastoral  care  of  the  church  of  Northampton,  by  the  laying  on  of 
hands,  with  fasting  and  prayer,  at  the  town  of  Northampton  aforesaid, 
on  the  19th  day  of  March,  1729-30 ;  and  therefore  esteem  and  de- 
clare him  to  be  a  lawful  and  sufficiently  authorized  Minister  of  Jesus 
Christ,  and  heartily  recommend  him  and  bis  ministry  to  the  Divine 
blessing. 

"  Witness  our  hands, 

"  J.  Norris,  Welford. 

"  S.  Clark,  St.  Alban's. 
"  Present  and  consenting,         "  J.  Watson,  Leicester. 

"J.  Brogden,  Wigton.         "  Edward  Brodhurst,  Birmingham 
"  R.  Dawson,  Hinckley."     "  T.  Saunders,  Kettering. 

"  J.  Drake,  Yardley. 

"  N.  Hunt,  Newport. 

"  Dan.  Goodrich,  Oundle. 


80  PUBLIC    CAREER. 

for  the  great  work  God  had  given  him  to  do,  began  to 
move  with  intenser  force,  like  the  burning  wheels  in 
Ezekiel's  vision. 

Doddridge's  habits  of  careful  composition,  and  stores 
of  knowledge  secured  at  Kibworth,  facilitated  the  dis- 
charge of  his  pulpit  labors  at  ^Northampton.  Orton, 
who  evidently  listened  with  fond  delight  to  his  reverend 
tutor,  informs  us,  that  he  sometimes  "  only  wrote  down 
the  heads  and  leading  thoughts  of  his  sermons,  and  the 
principal  texts  of  scripture  he  designed  to  introduce. 
But  he  was  so  thoroughly  master  of  his  subject,  and 
had  such  a  ready  utterance,  and  so  warm  a  heart,  that 
perhaps  few  ministers  could  compose  better  discourses 
than  he  delivered  from  these  short  hints."  Andrew 
Kippis,  who  entered  the  academy  seven  years  after 
Orton,  a  man  of  colder  temperament,  more  critical  mind, 
and  further  removed  from  Doddridge's  evangelical  news, 
makes  some  abatement  from  the  encomium.  "When  the 
preparation  was  considerable,  he  admits  the  discourses 
were  excellent  in  a  high  degree,  but  he  intimates  that 
at  other  times,  as  might  be  expected,  they  were  not  so 
valuable.  Of  course,  Doddridge  could  not,  any  more 
than  other  men,  preach  by  inspiration  and  without  la- 
bor, except  on  rare  and  stirring  occasions.  One  such  is 
mentioned,  when  the  poet  Akenside  made  his  appear- 
ance unexpectedly  in  the  Castle-hill  Meeting-house,  and 
the  Doctor,  though  slightly  furnished  for  the  service, 
roused  his  powers,  "  and  spake  with  such  variety  and 


THE    MINISTER.  81 

eloquence  as  must  have  impressed  the  visitor  with  a  high 
opinion  of  his  abilities."  In  support  of  the  qualification 
which  Kippis  appends  to  Orton's  eulogy,  he  says,  that 
once  the  students  complained  to  their  tutor,  that  while 
his  lectures  were  admirable,  his  sermons  were  not  suffi- 
ciently correct  models  of  pulpit  composition.  Dodd- 
ridge, the  most  candid  of  men,  he  observes,  took  this 
kindly,  and  his  sermons  became  far  superior  to  what 
they  had  been.  Orton  informs  us  that  he  had  an  earn- 
estness and  pathos  in  his  manner  of  speaking,  which,  as 
it  seemed  to  be  the  natural  effect  of  a  strong  impression 
of  Divine  truth  upon  his  own  heart,  tended  greatly  to 
affect  his  hearers,  and  to  render  his  discourses  more  ac- 
ceptable and  useful  than  if  his  delivery  had  been  more 
calm  and  dispassionate.  His  pronunciation  and  action 
were  by  some  judges  thought  rather  too  strong  and 
vehement :  but  to  those  who  were  acquainted  with  the 
vivacity  of  his  temper  and  his  usual  manner  of  conver- 
sation, they  appeared  quite  natural  and  unaffected. 

The  four  volumes  of  sermons  published  twenty  years 
ago,  perhaps  afford  a  fair  sample  of  his  better  preaching. 
In  matter  evangelical ;  in  arrangement  lucid ;  in  imageiy, 
generally  tasteful,  sometimes  felicitous ;  in  diction  always 
perspicuous,  and  occasionally  eloquent,  they  must  have 
been  heard  -with  uncommon  interest.  Never  very  great, 
they  were  always  very  good,  and  goodness  in  a  sermon, 
meaning  by  that  the  power  to  edify,  is  better  than  great- 
ness.    Doddridge's  discourses   do  not  remind  you  of 


82  TUBLIC    CAREER. 

Alpine  mountains ;  they  have  no  massive  and  daring 
arguments  tinged  with  poetic  hues,  like  the  glorious 
range  of  the  Oberland  at  sunset, — no  confounding  ex- 
postulations, like  torrents  from  some  glacier  cavern; 
there  is  nothing  to  astonish, — entrance, — enthrill.  But 
they  remind  you  of  English  valleys ;  they  are  full  of  rich, 
useful,  refreshing  thoughts,  like  cornfields,  orchards,  and 
gardens ; — they  abound  in  earnest  persuasive  appeals, 
like  brooks  of  living  water ; — they  have  much  to  feed 
the  soul  and  inspire  calm  delight.  Doddridge  entered 
the  pulpit  not  to  dazzle,  but  to  teach  ;  not  to  amaze,  but 
to  convince ;  not  to  gratify,"  but  to  reform ;  not  to  be 
thought  great,  but  to  do  good.  This  was  his  motto  : 
"  May  I  remember  that  I  am  not  to  compose  an  harangue 
to  acquire  to  myself  the  reputation  of  an  eloquent  orator, 
but  that  I  am  preparing  food  for  precious  and  immortal 
souls,  and  dispensing  the  sacred  gospel  which  my  Re- 
deemer brought  from  heaven,  and  sealed  with  his  blood."* 

*  Mrs.  Doddridge,  writing  to  Mr.  Clark,  in  1754,  thus  refers  to  her 
husband's  ministrations : — 

"  Nor  does  it  give  me  less  joy  to  hear  you  speak  so  highly  of  ex- 
perimental preaching.  It  was  often  said  by  the  ever  dear  deceased, 
that  one  sermon  preached  to  the  heart  was  worth  ten  to  the  under- 
standing. ...  I  think  you  will  with  pleasure  read  those  sermons 
of  my  dear  Mr.  D.,  which  I  am  now  getting  transcribed.  He  formed 
his  first  plan  of  preaching,  as  I  have  often  heard  him  with  delight  ex- 
press, on  this  principle ;  and  I  cannot  but  think,  considering  the 
variety  of  subjects  on  which  they  treat,  as  well  as  exhibiting  a  speci- 
men of  his  general  manner  of  preaching,  many  of  them  would  be  very 
acceptable  to  the  public,  and  possibly  would  be  more  useful  than 

those  which  have  been  so  long  published I  was  glad  I 

had  the  power  of  putting  the  transcript  of  one  sermon  into  your  hands. 


THE    MINISTER.  83 

Doddridge's  gift  in  prayer  was  eminent ;  his  adminis- 
tration of  the  Lord's  Supper  exemplary.  A  season  of 
memorable  enjoyment  must  the  sendee  often  have  been, 
judging  from  the  sacramental  meditations,  which  we 
sincerely  thank  the  spiritually-minded  administrator  of 
the  ordinance,  for  recording  in  his  diary.  On  the  Sun- 
day evening  did  the  good  people  of  Castle  Hill,  in  those 
times,  show  forth  their  Lord's  death,  availing  themselves 
of  moonlight  nights,  for  the  convenience  of  such  as  lived 
in  the  adjacent  villages.  One  can  picture  them,  their 
minds  filled  with  the  holy  things  their  much  loved  doe- 
tor  had  been  saying,  wending  their  way  in  rustic  con- 
veyance, or  trudging  on  foot  through  Northampton's 


It  was  the  first  sermon  my  ever  dear  Mr.  D.  preached  after  his  re- 
covery from  that  violent  fever  in  '45.  in  which  no  person  expected  his 
life — the  title,  '  Paul  given  back  to  the  Church  in  answer  to  the 
prayers  of  his  Christian  friends.'  A  second  Paul  was  given  back,  and 
I  must  esteem  it  a  great  mercy,  as  I  know  not  how  his  place  could 
have  been  supplied.  You  see  almost  in  every  page  the  heart  of  the 
dear  author ;  and  mine  can  accompany  him,  and  add  many  others 
from  the  recollection  of  many  things  which  my  eyes  saw  and  ears 
heard,  who  was  so  often  a  witness  to  his  lively  faith  and  zeal  for  the 
glory  of  his  God  and  the  salvation  of  souls,  particularly  those  in  a  more 
immediate  manner  committed  to  his  charge,  taking  every  opportunity 
in  season  and  out  of  season,  making  use  of  every  occurrence,  whether 
of  a  public  or  private  nature,  to  lead  on  their  meditation  from  one 
Sabbath  to  another,  and  endeavoring  to  lead  on  and  fine  doicn  their 
minds  to  the  grand  concerns  of  their  own  salvation  :  and  to  thisj-ou 
will  here  find  the  kindness  of  his  heart  and  the  overflowing  benevo- 
lence, which  did  not  stop  here,  but  ran  more  or  less  through  all  his 
conduct  towards  them,  enforcing  his  sermons  by  a  suitable  life  and 
conversation."* 

*  MS.  letters  in  possession  of  Charles  Reed,  Esq. 


84  PUBLIC    CAREER. 

silent  streets,  and  the  still  more  silent  roads,  looking  up 
to  the  pale  blue  ocean-sky,  and  the  moon  floating  there 
with  her  silver  sails,  and  her  train  of  starry  barks; 
musing,  perhaps,  on  the  beautiful  hymn  in  which  their 
pastor  has  embalmed  the  spirit  of  his  discourse  on  "  God 
the  everlasting  Light  of  the  Saints  above." 

"  Ye  golden  lamps  of  Heaven,  farewell, 
With  all  your  feeble  light ; 
Farewell,  thou  ever-changing  moon, 
Pale  empress  of  the  night. 

•  Ye  stars  are  but  the  shining  dust 
Of  my  divine  abode, 
The  pavement  of  those  lovely  courts, 
Where  I  shall  reign  with  God. 

"  The  Father  of  eternal  light 

Shall  there  his  beams  display  : 
Nor  shall  one  moment's  darkness  mix 
With  that  unvaried  day. 

"  There  all  the  millions  of  his  saints 
Shall  in  one  song  unite, 
And  each  the  bliss  of  all  shall  view, 
With  infinite  delight." 

The  preacher  and  the  pastor  are  sides  of  ministerial 
character,  which  sometimes,  unhappily,  do  not  accord. 
They  look  opposite  ways,  like  the  double  face  of  Janus. 
Heavenly  and  earnest  in  his  Sunday  work,  the  man 
presents  a  total  reverse  in  his  week-day  walk.  No  sus- 
picion of  that  sort  can  rest  on  Doddridge.  He  kept  a 
list  of  all  his  members,  with  some  memorabilia  of  their 
religious  standing,  a  sort  of  spiritual  domesday  book,  ex- 


THE    MINISTER.  85 

hibiting  how  much  of  the  holy  inheritance  in  ImmanuePs 
land  each  one  might  actually  possess.  The  people  were 
scattered,  but  once  or  twice  a-year  he  contrived  to  visit 
them  all.  He  was  not  more  the  messenger  of  God  in  the 
pulpit  than  he  was  in  the  rich  man's  parlor,  or  in  the 
poor  man's  kitchen.  "When  festivals  and  wakes  gathered 
a  rustic  concourse,  there  was  he  to  preach  a  suitable  dis- 
course ;  and  when  some  member  in  a  neighboring  village 
died,  away  he  went  to  improve,  for  the  benefit  of  sur- 
vivors, the  memory  of  the  departed.  He  catechized  the 
children  with  special  care,  and  formed  religious  associa- 
tions for  the  young  people.  Finding  himself  overspent 
with  labor,  he  called  in  the  aid  of  suitable  persons  in 
the  Church,  under  the  name  of  elders,  to  help  him  in 
his  pastoral  visits  of  inspection  and  loving  care.  He 
was  as  Moses,  and  they  were  as  the  helpers  suggested 
by  Jethro.  With  all  his  gentleness  of  spirit,  he  aimed 
at  maintaining  purity  of  discipline ;  and  among  other 
edifying  entries  in  his  church  books,  is  one  well  worthy 
of  universal  adoption  as  a  law, — namely,  that  a  man 
failing  in  business  must  be  cut  off  from  the  body,  unless, 
within  two  months,  he  can  prove  that  his  fall  was  not 
owing  to  his  sinful  folly.  Congregational  fasts  accom- 
panied acts  of  discipline,  and  relies  of  a  more  olden  time 
appeared  in  his  days  of  godly  prayer  and  humiliation, 
when  the  divine  work  seemed  at  a  stand-still.  And 
then,  besides  all  this,  how  he  labored  outside  the  church, 
to  found  the  charity-school  and  county  hospital,  on  the 
H 


86  PUBLIC    CAREEPv. 

basis  of  public  voluntary  contributions, — the  novelties  of 
that  age,  preparing  for  what  have  happily  become  the 
common-places  in  the  benevolence  of  this. 

Yet,  this  good  man  did  not  reap  ail  the  success  which 
might  have  been  expected.  His  richest  harvests  were 
gathered  in  during  the  earlier  years  of  his  spiritual  hus- 
bandry in  Northampton.  Not  long  before  his  death 
he  writes  with  a  heavy  heart :  "  In  looking  over  the 
account  for  five  years,  1749,  I  find  that  twenty -two 
have  been  admitted,  and  twenty-two  removed  by  death 
or  otherwise,  so  that  we  are  just  as  at  the  beginning  of 
the  five  years, — in  all  239."  Under  the  year  1*747,  he 
says  in  his  diary  : — 

"  We  are  not  so  well  attended  as  formerly ;  several 
places  appear  empty  on  a  Lord's-day,  (though  the  lec- 
tures are  generally  pretty  full) ;  and  which  greatly 
troubles  me.  We  have  had  few  additions  to  our  church, 
only  thirteen  in  all  the  last  year,  and  we  lost  twelve 
members — eight  by  removals,  as  indeed  several  then 
left  us  to  live  in  London  or  elsewhere,  and  none  came 
in  their  room ;  so  that,  upon  the  whole,  I  think  it  evi- 
dent that  our  interest  declines,  notwithstanding  a  great 
deal  that  I  have  certainly  done  to  promote  its  increase. 
To  all  this  is  to  be  added  the  great  lukewarmness  and 
indifference  of  most  professors,  especially  in  any  consid- 
erable stations,  and  the  scandalous  behavior  of  some." 
On  reading  these  discouraging  entries,  we  cannot  re- 
press the  thought,  that  much  as  we  may  deplore  the 


THE    MINISTER.  87 

present  limitations  of  ministerial  success,  the  accessions 
to  the  church  of  many  a  humble  pastor,  present  a  favor- 
able comparison  with  the  small  increase,  and  with  the 
occasional  decline,  in  the  society  over  which  the  great 
and  good  Dr.  Doddridge  presided. 

Albeit  to  labor  on,  without  seeing  what  comes  of  all 
their  toil,  is  the  trying  condition  which  the  Lord  of  the 
vineyard,  for  wise  reasons,  imposes  on  many  a  laborer 
whom  he  loves.  Whether  to  us,  though  far  less  worthy, 
he  allots  a  larger  measure  of  ministerial  success,  or  leaves 
us,  like  him  whose  memory  we  celebrate,  to  struggle  on 
in  our  pastoral  vocation  amidst  huge  discouragements, 
still  be  it  the  purpose  of  each  God-called  pastor  with 
firm  step  to  march  along  the  rough  high-ways  of  duty, 
chanting  with  strong  voice,  aud  stronger  heart,  that 
noble  Psalm  of  Life, — 

"  Lives  of  great  men  all  remind  us, 
We  can  make  our  lives  sublime, 
And,  departing,  leave  behind  us 
Footprints  on  the  sand  of  time ; 

Footprints  that  perhaps  another, 
Sailing  o'er  life's  solemn  main, 
A  forlorn  and  shipwrecked  brother, 
Seeing  shall  take  heart  again ; 

Let  us  then  be  up  and  doing, 
With  a  heart  for  any  fate, 
Still  achieving,  still  pursuing, 
Learn  to  labor,  and  to  wait." 


88  PUBLIC    CAREER, 


THE    TUTOR 


The  academy  opened  at  Kibworth  was  continued  by 
Dr.  Doddridge  with  ever-increasing  success  and  celeb- 
rity till  the  time  of  his  death.  It  is  apparent  that  it 
was  a  kind  of  school  for  young  men  intended  for  differ- 
ent professions,  and  was  entirely  under  his  own  control. 
The  students  paid  what  he  required,  and  the  whole  re- 
sponsibility of  the  undertaking  rested  with  himself. 
Students  for  the  ministry  were  sometimes  assisted  by 
private  friends,  or  out  of  funds  collected  or  bequeathed 
for  religious  purposes.*  Several  were  under  the  pat- 
ronage of  Mr.  Coward  and  his  trustees.  Their  connec- 
tion with  Doddridge's  academy  consisted  simply  in  their 
supporting  a  certain -number  of  students  there,  according 
to  the  provisions  of  the  benefactors'  will,  and  in  their 
bestowing  occasionally  extra  grants. 

Doddridge,  in  his  capacity  of  tutor,  was,  a  few  years 
after  he  came  to  reside  at  Northampton,  exposed  to  per- 

*  I  have  been  favored  by  the  Treasurer  with  the  following  ex- 
tracts from  the  records  of  the  Congregational  Fund  Board: — 

"  1738.  Students  sent  by  the  Board  to  Dr.  Doddridge. 

"  1739,  Ordered  Dr.  Doddridge,  tutor  at  Northampton,  for  an  as- 
sistant, per  ann.  £10. 

"  1743,  Dr.  Doddridge's  report  of  eight  students  read." 

Sometimes  he  gratuitously  superintended  the  studies  of  candidates 
for  the  ministry  :  speaking  of  young  Steffe,  whose  life  he  wrote,  he 
says,  "  I  gave  him  his  education,  which  I  only  mention  as  an  argu- 
ment that  I  am  thoroughly  convinced  that  he  deserves  encourage- 
ment.1'— Corresjjondence,  iii.  260. 


THE    TUTOR.  89 

sedition,  and  that  not  unattended  by  violence.  It  is 
often  supposed,  that  after  the  Revolution  Dissenters 
were  not  molested  in  carrying  out  their  principles.  But 
authentic  records  of  their  history  tell  another  tale.  Not 
only  were  they  exposed  to  vexatious  proceedings  on  the 
part  of  the  Church,  but  they  had  to  endure  assaults  at 
the  hands  of  popular  fury.  At  the  time  of  the  trial  of 
Sacheverell,  in  the  reign  of  Anne,  meeting-houses  in 
London  were  ransacked,  and  bonfires  made  of  pulpits 
and  pews.  After  the  accession  of  George  I.  in  1715, 
riots  occurred  in  Staffordshire  and  other  counties,  in 
which  places  of  worship  were  pulled  down  or  their  fur- 
niture demolished.*  Doddridge  suffered  both  from  the 
spiritual  court  and  an  infuriated  populace.  In  1732, 
the  chancellor  of  the  diocese,  not  out  of  any  ill-will,  as 
he  professed,  but  purely  to  establish  and  vindicate  the 
authority  of  his  court,  instituted  a  prosecution  to  compel 
him  to  take  out  an  ecclesiastical  license  for  his  academy. 
"The  wisest  parties  I  have  yet  consulted  in  town  or 
country,  look  upon  these  proceedings  as  a  very  artful 
scheme  to  bring  us  under  ecclesiastical  inspection,  more 
than  we  have  ever  been,  and  they  think  as  I  do,  that  it 
is  trusting  our  academies  and  schools  to  the  impartiality 
of  a  party  which  has  not  always  shown  the  nicest  honor, 
not  to  touch  upon  its  integrity."  Thus  Doddridge  wrote 
in  reference  to  the  subject,  and  made  a  stand  against 

*  An  account  of  damage  done  in  these  riots  is  preserved  among 
the  Wilson  MSS.,  Dr.  Williams's  Library. 


90  PUBLIC    CAREER. 

this  exercise  of  tyranny.  The  cause  was  tried  in  the 
civil  court.  Westminster  Hall  decided  in  his  favor. 
The  judges  ordered  a  prohibition,  which,  as  he  thought, 
would  secure  him  from  further  trouble  in  that  quarter  ; 
but  he  was  mistaken ;  proceedings  were  continued ; 
however,  they  were  soon  cut  short  by  the  interference 
of  the  king,  George  II.,  who  had  laid  down  as  a  maxim, 
on  ascending  the  throne,  that  in  his  reign  there  should 
be  no  persecution  for  conscience'  sake. 

In  September,1 1733,  the  academic  house  was  attacked 
by  a  mob  :  the  ringleaders  were  discovered  and  brought 
to  justice  ;  but  it  would  appear  that  the  chief  magistrate 
of  the  town  did  not  in  the  affair  deal  out  even-handed 
justice,  for  the  Earl  of  Halifax  in  a  letter  to  Doddridge, 
says,  "  I  am  entirely  of  your  opinion,  that  such  poor 
artifices  as  the  mayor  has  lately  practised,  will  be  rather 
a  disservice  to  his  friend  than  otherwise."* 

In  what  part  of  the  town  he  lived  at  the  time  his 
dwelling-house  was   assaulted   by  the  mob,  I  do  not 

*  My  friend,  Mr.  Bennett,  who  now  worthily  occupies  the  pulpit 
of  Dr.  Doddridge,  has  kindly,  at  my  request,  searched  the  file  of  the 
"Northampton  Mercury"  of  that  period,  for  an  account  of  the  riot; 
but  in  vain.  Many  of  these  old  chronicles  do  not  contain  a  particle 
of  Northampton  news,  and  never  more  than  four  or  five  lines.  They 
are  chiefly  occupied  with  births  and  deaths,  county  alliances  by  mar- 
riage, "cocking  matches,"  advertisements  of  eminent  horses,  long 
despatches  anent  the  doings  of  "  Thomas  Kouli  Khan,"  and  the 
"  Sultan  Achmet,"  lofty  odes  in  praise  of  "  Caroline  and  the  god-like 
George ;"  and  now  and  then  an  allusion  to  the  proceedings  of  what, 
in  its  opening  address,  it  calls  ".that  admirable  and  excellent  mys- 
tery, their  honors  the  corporation." 


THE    TUTOR.  91 

know.  That  lie  removed  latterly  to  another  house,  large 
and  commodious  enough  to  contain  all  his  students, 
with  two  or  three  exceptions,  we  are  informed  by  Kippis. 
That  house  still  remains  :  it  stands  in  Sheep  Street ;  it 
is  now  divided  into  four  tenements,  but  the  front,  with 
its  row  of  pilasters  in  the  Georgian  style  of  architecture, 
(if  style  it  may  be  called,)  still  preserves  the  external 
unity  of  the  old  academic  abode. 

The  homes  and  haunts  of  genius,  learning,  and  piety, 
are  hallowed  spots.  The  poetry  embodied  in  the  lives 
and  actions  of  great  souls  seems  inscribed  on  the  walls 
in  lines  of  sympathetic  ink,  to  which  congenial,  though 
far  inferior  minds,  give  visibility,  and  read  the  glowing 
stanzas  with  corresponding  admiration^  In  the  present 
clay  such  taste  seems  more  widely  diffused  than  ever. 
At  no  period  have  the  shrines  of  England's  best  heroes 
been  visited  as  they  are  at  present  by  troops  of  loving 
pilgrims.  The  house  in  Sheep  Street,  Northampton,  is 
worthy  to  rank  among  these  relics.  The  rambler  on  the 
banks  of  the  not  far  off  lily-bordered  Ouse,  if  he  has  any 
reverence  for  British  bards,  will  turn  aside  into  the  quiet 
streets  of  Olney  to  look  on  the  now  dilapidated  habita- 
tion and  summer-house,  once  occupied  by  the  gentle  and 
gifted  author  of  the  "  Task."  And  he  who  follows  the 
windings  of  the  Nen,  if  he  have  any  love  for  English 
divines,  will  hardly  fail  to  thread  the  thoroughfares  of 
Northampton,  and  find  out  the  building,  still  undecayed, 


92  PUBLIC    CAREER. 

in  which  once  lived  the  learned  and  laborious  author  of 
the  "Family  Expositor."* 

Identifying  the  locality,  we  can  give  form  and  sub- 
stance to  his  manner  of  life  as  a  theological,  and  indeed 
almost  universal  professor, — so  minutely  and  reverentially 
traced  by  two  distinguished  pupils.  Behold,  then,  his 
tall  and  slender  form  enrobed  in  academic  costiune,  and 
his  large  features  and  good-humored  countenance  en- 
compassed by  the  curls  of  a  flowing  wig,  and  an  ample 
supply  of  snow-white  collar,  turned  down  over  the  shoul- 
ders, as  he  meets  his  young  men  at  six  o'clock  on  a 
summer  morning,  to  open  the  day  with  short  and  solemn 
prayer.  Later,  at  family  worship,  they  read  a  chapter 
in  the  Hebrew  Bible,  Orton  and  Kippis,  and  such  prom- 
ising lads,  performing  the  exercise  with  commendable 
diligence,  but  some  of  the  idler  fellows  slurrino-  over  the 
task  by  slily  placing  the  English  translation  beside  the 
original,  which  the  professor,  who  is  very  short-sighted, 
is  unable  to  detect.f  The  reading,  well  or  badly  done, 
he  goes  on  with  his  accustomed  perspicuity  to  expound 
the  paragraph,  and  to  aid  the  young  linguists  by  the 
light  of  his    own    ever-ready  critical  learning.     After 

*  The  house  is  now  occupied  by  Mr.  Olive,  surgeon,  a  descendant 
of  that  excellent  man,  Risdon  Darricott,  '-the  star  of  the  west."  Jt 
was  courteously  opened  to  the  inspection  of  visitors  during  the  sit- 
tings of  the  autumnal  assembly. 

t  This  infirmity  sometimes  led  the  Doctor  into  blunders.  Once  in 
company  he  addressed  an  unknown  lady  in  a  tone  of  loving  compli- 
ment, supposing  it  was  Mrs.  Doddridge.  This  little  circumstance,  his 
last  surviving  pupil,  the  llev.  Mr.  Taylor,  used  to  relate. 


THE    TUTOR.  U3 

breakfast  comes  the  grand  business  of  lecturing,  and 
forthwith  he  unfolds  a  formidable  string  of  "  proposi- 
tions," "  scholias"  and  M  lemmas,"  bearing  on  some  branch 
of  ethics  or  divinity,  which  he  illustrates  by  references 
without  number  to  learned  works,  and  erudite  opinions : — 
all  of  these  are  at  his  finger  ends,  and  as  he  reads  or 
talks,  the  listening  alumni  jot  down  in  Rich's  shorthand 
the  substance  of  what  they  hear.*  Civil  law,  hiero- 
glyphics, mythology,  English  history,  and  nonconformist 
principles,  logic,  rhetoric,  mathematics,f  anatomy,  and 
the  rudiments  of  other  sciences,  together  with  antiquities, 
Jewish  and  ecclesiastical,  we  are  told  all  came  in  for 
luminous  treatment  by  this  man  of  large  intelligence. 
Critical  lectures,  containing  the  germs  of  his  "  Exposi- 
tor," are  delivered  weekly ;  and  jDolite  literature,  hereto- 
fore but  little  regarded  among  nonconformists,  but  for 
which  Doddridge,  through  mental  predilection,  and  the 
training  of  Mr.  Jennings,  had  acquired  a  decided  taste, 
is  not  neglected  in  this  wonderful  hive  of  intellectual  in- 
dustry. Pastoral  theology  and  the  composition  of  ser- 
mons have  a  course  of  lectures  devoted  to  them ;  and 
never  does  the  warm-hearted  professor  appear  more  in 
his  element  than  when,  with  vehement  energy,  he  incul- 
cates upon  his  students  the  necessity  of  "preaching 
Christ."     One  day  is  set  apart  for  reading  and  exainin- 

*  The  teaching  of  the  classics  chiefly  devolved  on  Dr.  Doddridge's 
assistant  in  the  academy. 

t  A  small  MS.  volume,  containing  a  treatise  on  algebra  by  Dr.  Dod- 
dridge, is  preserved  in  the  library  of  the  Coward  trustees. 


94  PUBLIC    CAREER. 

ing  themes,  homilies,  outlines,  analyses,  and  translations  ; 
and  on  the  Saturday  previous  to  the  communion  day,  he 
spends  much  time  with  his  young  men  in  devotional  en- 
gagements, delivering  some  solemn  discourse  on  the  evil 
and  danger  of  neglecting  the  souls  of  men ;  and  never 
does  his  heart  appear  more  strongly  affected  than  at 
these  seasons.  Another  of  his  eno-ao-ements  above  all 
we  like,  and  think  it  worth  a  good  many  of  his  lectures. 
Entering  his  well-stored  library,  we  see  him  surrounded 
by  groups  of  listeners,  going  from  shelf  to  shelf,  and  giv- 
ing a  viva  voce  catalogue,  which  displays  a  surprising 
extent  of  knowledge,  and  recommending  at  what  period 
of  their  course,  and  with  what  special  views,  particular 
books  should  be  read,  and  which  of  them  it  is  desirable 
they  should  be  most  familiarly  acquainted  with,  when 
settled  in  the  world.  -  And  now,  in  he  comes,  with  a 
merry  laugh  and  a  ludicrous  anecdote.  A  little  girl  has 
just  been  playing  with  a  dog  and  nursing  it  in  her  lap, 
as  he  sat  on  the  old-fashioned  window-seat.  And  "  do 
you  know,"  she  gravely  asked,  "  who  made  you  ?"  A 
look  of  blank  wonder  from  the  questioned  animal  was 
of  course  all  that  followed.  "  Shame  on  you,"  proceeded 
the  young  interrogator,  with  grave  reproof;  "you  Dr. 
Doddridge's  dog,  and  not  know  who  made  you  ?"  "  And 
if,"  after  relating  the  comical  story,  he  adds,  "  so  much 
is  expected  from  my  dog,  what  may  be  expected  from 
my  students  !"  We  drop  into  his  study,  and  find  that 
there  the  youths  have  access,  and  come  with  filial  con- 


THE    TUTOR.  95 

fidence  to  state  a  difficulty,  and  ask  advice.  The  family 
meal  is  improved  and  enlivened  by  his  intelligent  con- 
ion,  and  his  searching  yet  considerate  questions. 
Like  the  surgeon,  who,  not  content  with'  the  theoretical 
instructions  of  the  lecture-room,  takes  his  pupils  to  walk 
the  hospital,  so  he  invites  his  ministerial  students  to  ac- 
company him  to  the  houses  of  his  people,  when  he  visits 
the  sick  or  performs  a  private  baptism.  He  brings 
them  acquainted  with  the  poor  of  his  flock,  that  they 
may  learn  how  to  address  those  of  a  lowly  condition — 
ever  cautioning  them  not  to  despise  the  common  people, 
nor  think  condescension  unworthy  of  a  scholar.  On  a 
Sunday  night,  when,  if  at  any  time,  a  Christian  heart 
should  be  more  than  usually  tender,  he  takes  them 
separately  into  his  study,  converses  with  them  concern- 
ing the  state  of  religion  in  their  soul,  and  gives  them 
suitable  counsel  and  encouragement.-  Though  by  no 
means  a  strict  disciplinarian  at  home — indeed  a  little  at 
fault  in  this  respect — yet  it  is  his  custom,  when  some 
grave  offender  has  been  detected,  solemnly  to  arraign 
him  at  family  worship,  and  publicly  pronounce  the  sen- 
tence of  expulsion.  Lamentations  steeped  in  tears  form 
that  day's  diary.  But  over  others  how  joyous  are  the 
boundings  of  his  heart !  He  has  just  been  to  hear  a 
promising  young  pupil.     Here  is  the  record : — "  This 

day  Mr. preached  one  of  the  best  sermons  I  ever 

heard,  concerning  the  happiness  of  the  children  of  God. 
I  had  preached  one  on  the  subject  some  time  before,  but 


96  PUBLIC    CAREER. 

when  I  considered  how  much  superior  his  was  to  mine, 
it  shamed  and  humbled  me  ;  yet  I  bless  God  it  did  not 
grieve  me.  If  any  stirrings  of  envy  moved,  they  were 
immediately  suppressed ;  and  as  soon  as  I  came  home  I 
solemnly  returned  my  acknowledgments  to  God,  for 
having  raised  up  such  a  minister  to  His  church,  and 
honored  me  with  his  education.  I  recommended  him  to 
the  Divine  blessing  with  the  tenderest  affection,  leaving 
myself  in  the  hand  of  God  ;  acquiescing  in  the  thought 
of  being  eclipsed,  of  being  neglected,  if  He  shall  so  ap- 
point ;  at  the  same  time,  adoring  Him,  that,  with  ca 
pacities  inferior  to  a  multitude  of  others,  I  have  been 
providentially  led  into  services  superior  to  many  of  those, 
in  comparison  with  whom,  my  knowledge  and  learning 
is  but  that  of  a  child."  And  now  another  who  has 
gone  through  his  whole  curriculum  with  honor,  is  to 
leave  the  institution  for  some  pastoral  charge,  and  on  the 
occasion  a  religious  service  is  held ;  the  elders  take  part 
in  the  exercise,  and  brethren  from  the  neighborhood  are 
invited  to  share  in  the  tutor's  satisfaction.  And  yet 
another — having  for  a  year  or  two  tasted  the  anxieties 
of  the  ministerial  life,  and  panting  for  the  sympathy  and 
counsel  of  the  wise — wends  his  way  to  Northampton^ 
and  calls  at  Sheep-street,  and  there  a  greeting  of  no 
common  sort  awaits  him ;  Doddridge's  house  is  to  him 
as  a  father's  house,  and  the  young  visitor,  timid  and 
modest,  feels  himself  at  home. 

Well  might  Job  Orton  say,  "  After  this  account  of 


THE    TUTOR.  97 

his  behavior  to  his  pupils,  and  concern  for  their  useful- 
ness and  happiness,  the  reader  who  knows  anything  of 
human  nature,  and  the  attractive  influence  of  love,  will 
not  wonder  to  he  told,  that  they  in  general  loved  him  as 
a  father,  and  that  his  paternal  advices  and  entreaties 
weighed  more  with  them  than  the  commands  of  rigid 
authority,  or  the  arguments  of  a  cooler  mind,  when  the 
affection  of  the  heart  was  not  felt,  or  not  tenderly 
expressed."* 

Doddridge's  pupils,  on  the  average,  were  in  number 
thirty-four;  and  as  Le  sustained  his  office  for  two-and- 
twenty  years,  about  two  hundred  young  men  passed 
under  his  academic  care,  among  whom  were  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty  ministers.  Some  were  preparing  to 
serve  in  the  church  of  Scotland,  and  one  young  man 
who  was  intended  for  the  English  establishment,  sought 
the  benefit  of  a  year  or  two's  tuition  from  the  noncon- 
forming professor. 

Cecil  used  to  say  of  Raleigh,  "  I  know  that  he  can 
toil  terribly."  And  on  looking  at  the  list  of  subjects  in 
which  Doddridge  instructed  his  young  men,  we  are  per- 
fectly astounded  at  the  diligence  which  the  variety  of 
his  knowledge  evidently  involved.  Indeed,  at  every 
turn  of  his  life,  we  see  that  the  man  must  have  toiled 
terribly.  Yet  with  all  his  toil,  it  was  impossible  that 
he  should  make  himself  such  a  master  of  universal  sci- 
ence as  to  be  thoroughly  competent  to  teach  the  whole, 

*  Orton's  Life,  p.  118. 
I 


98  PUBLIC    CAREER. 

or  have  strength  enough,  to  go  regularly  round  a  circle 
of  tuition  so  wide  and  varied  ;  and  therefore,  we  cannot 
help  congratulating  the  rising  ministry,  that  the  altered 
circumstances  and  spirit  of  the  age  have  enabled  us  to 
introduce  the  great  economic  principle  of  a  distribution 
of  labor  into  our  college  system,  and  to  allot  to  several 
vigorous  and  sanctified  minds  distinct  departments  of 
instruction,  suited  to  their  different  intellectual  tastes 
and  literary  attainments. 

Looking  at  the  doctor's  herculean  efforts  throughout 
one  of  his  academic  sessions — the  occupations  of  pastor, 
author,  and  tutor  being  combined — we  cannot  doubt 
that  welcome  indeed  must  have  been  the  summer  recess, 
allowing  him  some  change  of  scene,  and  some  little  sips 
of  recreation.  As  we  read  his  life  and  letters,  and  fully 
charge  our  mind  with  the  image  of  this  model  of  earnest 
diligence,  we  are  really  so  oppressed  that  we  feel  relief, 
sympathetic  with  his  own,  in  thinking  of  his  vacations. 
We  are  glad  to  go  with  him  on  one  of  his  trips.  Forth- 
with we  sally  out,  in  imagination,  along  the  bad  roads 
of  the  last  century,  by  some  "  flying"  coach,  which  man- 
aged to  compass  the  distance  between  Northampton 
and  London  in  a  couple  of  days,  till  we  arrive  at  Mr. 
Coward's  house  at  Walthamstow,  who  entertains  us  with 
hearty  cheer,  and  cordially  drinks  Mr.  Doddridge's 
health  after  dinner.  Getting  into  a  post-chaise  with 
him  and  Mr.  Ash  worth,  we  count  with  him,  "thirty- 
five  gates  made  fast  with  latches  between  the  last  mar- 


THE    TUTOR.  99 

ket-town  and  Stratford-on-Avon,"  where  the  doctor  makes 
a  pilgrimage  to  Shakspeare's  grave.  Xext  we  go  with 
him  down  to  the  hospitable  mansion  of  the  "Welmans, 
"  the  glory  of  the  Taunton  Dissenters,"  who  receive  him 
with  "princely  elegance,"  at  "a  table  fit  for  an  arch- 
bishop." Then  we  slowly  travel  on  to  Plymouth,  and 
see  our  friend  "  in  a  little  boat  dancing  on  the  swelling 
sea,"  "  or  feeding  a  tame  bear  with  biscuits  ;"  and  then 
on  his  way  home  we  peep  into  his  room  at  Lymington, 
where  he  sits  on  Saturday  night,  in  a  silk  night-gown 
which  Mr.  Pearson  has  lent  him,  writing  letters  to  his 
beloved  Mercy  ;  or,  opening  one  of  them  from  Ongar  in 
Essex,  we  find  that  he  has  turned  angler  :  "  I  went  a 
fishing  yesterday,  and  with  extraordinary  success,  for  I 
pulled  a  minnow  out  of  the  water,  though  it  made  shift 
to  get  away." 

The  excursion  over,  Ave  must  go  back  to  the  lecture 
room.  As  to  the  Doctor's  system  of  instruction,  "  objec- 
tions have  been  made,  and  not  without  reason,  to  the 
scholastic  and  technical  form  in  which  the  materials  are 
arranged  :  the  blending  together  in  one  series  of  lec- 
tures, and  a  connected  train  of  propositions,  metaphysics, 
ethics,  and  divinity  ;  the  disproportionate  attention  given 
to  the  evidences  of  natural  and  revealed  religion,  com- 
pared with  the  narrow  space  allotted  to  the  statement 
and  vindication  of  Christian  doctrines ;  and  the  employ- 
ment, for  the  most  part,  of  abstract  general  reasonings, 
instead  of  making  a  constant  and  final  appeal  to  the 


100  PUBLIC    CAREER. 

authority  of  Holy  Scripture."*  But  graver  considera- 
tions arise  in  reference  to  Doddridge's  mode  of  teaching 
divinity.  Job  Orton,  who,  on  the  whole,  was  evangeli- 
cal in  his  views,  observes  that  his  venerated  master 
never  expected  nor  desired  that  his  pupils  should  blindly 
follow  his  sentiments,  but  permitted  and  encouraged 
them  to  judge  for  themselves.  "  To  assist  them  herein," 
we  are  informed,  "  he  laid  before  them  what  he  appre- 
hended to  be  the  truth  with  all  perspicuity ;  and  impar- 
tially stated  all  objections  to  it.  He  never  concealed 
the  difficulties  which  affected  any  question,  but  referred 
them  to  writers  on  both  sides,  without  hiding  any  from 
their  inspection."  Kippis  says,  "He  represented  the 
arguments,  and  referred  to  the  authorities,  on  both 
sides  :  the  students  were  left  to  judge  for  themselves, 
and  they  did  judge  for  themselves,  with  his  perfect  con- 
currence and  approbation,  though  no  doubt  it  was  natu- 
ral for  him  to  be  pleased  when  their  sentiments  coincided 
with  his  own.  Where  this  was  not  the  case,  it  made 
no  alteration  in  his  affection  and  kind  treatment,  as  the 
writer  of  the  present  narrative  can  testify."  The  state- 
ment by  Kippis  is  rather  stronger  than  that  by  Orton, 
but  they  are  substantially  the  same.  They  seem  to 
intimate  that  the  professor  just  placed  before  his  pupils 
all  that  could  be  said  for  or  against  a  given  tenet,  and 
then  left  them  to  choose  between  conflicting  evidence. 

*  Mr.  Morell's  Introductory  Essay  to  Dr.  Doddridge's  Miscellane- 
ous Works. 


THE    TUTOR.  101 

On  turning  to  the  lectures  published  under  the  editor- 
ship of  Kippis,  we  find,  however,  that  while  objections 
to  the  proposition  laid  down  are  candidly  stated,  an- 
swers are  given  to  the  objections,  and  they  are  treated 
as  thereby  set  aside ;  so  that  the  proposition  is  left  to 
stand  as  having  a  satisfactory  amount  of  proof  in  its 
favor.  The  written  lectures  do  not  appear  to  place  the- 
ological doctrines  before  the  student  exactly  in  the  light 
in  which  the  two  pupils  of  the  illustrious  master  seem 
to  represent.  The  lectures  pronounce  decisive  judg- 
ment, noticing  objections  only  to  answer  them.  Xot 
that  it  is  intended  hereby  to  express  approval  of  the 
method,  even  in  the  printed  book,  if  the  author  of  these 
lines  may  speak  frankly  in  reference  to  the  productions 
of  one  whom  he  so  highly  venerates ;  for  the  method  :s 
somewhat  of  a  dry  and  frigid  embodiment  of  truth,  like 
the  skeleton-looking  leaves  of  a  hortus  siccus.  But  we 
must  not  forget  that  a  great  deal  was  added  viva  voce, 
when  the  lectures  were  delivered  in  the  class  room.  In 
these  portions  of  the  exercise,  we  suppose  that  Dodd- 
ridge pursued  a  course  in  agreement  with  the  report  of 
Orton  and  Kippis.  If  at  all,  he  then  assumed,  or  ap- 
proximated to,  the  impartiality  of  the  judge,  who,  with 
no  personal  interest  in  the  cause  in  question,  and  ap- 
pealing to  those  equally  indifferent  to  the  result  of  the 
trial,  states  both  sides,  pro  and  con.,  with  all  the  digni- 
fied coldness  of  judicial  candor.  But  this,  we  appre- 
hend, is  not  the  way  to  teach  either  religion  or  theology. 


102  PUBLIC    CAREER. 

Religion  appeals  to  the  eye  of  faith,  and  is  as  true  an 
assemblage  of  tilings  in  the  perception  of  that  spiritual 
eye,  as  any  assemblage  of  other  things  can  be  to  the 
natural  eye.  As  such,  the  discoveries  of  revelation 
ought  to  be  ever  referred  to.  A  thoroughly  earnest 
soul,  in  speaking  of  them,  should  take  his  standing  on 
the  side  of  their  truth  and  reality  ;  and  when  these  are 
disputed,  reiterate  the  assertion  of  them,  as  he  would 
the  objective  existence  of  the  sun,  if  a  blind  man  were 
to  question  whether  there  be  such  a  thing  at  all.  Free- 
dom must  be  allowed  to  every  man  to  speak  as  he 
thinks ;  to  deny  that  freedom,  is  to  compel  hypocrisy. 
But  while  such  liberty  of  speech  is  granted,  and  a  kind 
spirit  and  loving  mien  shown  to  the  speaker — if  he  utter 
error,  then  must  there  stand  up  a  calm,  dignified  intol- 
erance of  that  error — intolerance  the  most  decided. 
Error  we  are  always  to  treat  as  an  enemy.  Xever  are 
we  to  show  it  quarter.  Life  is  to  be  spent  in  striving 
to  kill  it.  It  is  a  devouring  dragon,  in  whose  vicinity 
none  are  safe.  It  is  a  poisonous  snake,  which  must  be 
slain.  The  pilgrim  and  the  soldier  must  be  united  in 
every  one  of  us.  Pilgrims  to  truth's  temple  should  we 
be,  lovingly  showing  all  companion  travellers  the  way. 
But,  then,  we  must  be  also  soldiers  on  truth's  field — 
fiohtino-  to  the  last  the  hell-born  error  which,  demon- 
like,  ventures  to  claim  standing  on  that  holy  ground. 
Theology,  the  science  of  religion,  is  distinguishable  from 
religion  itself.     It  has  its  definitions,  syllogisms,  and  in- 


THE    TUTOR.  103 

ferences.  There  is  the  scientific  expression  of  pri- 
mary facts,  the  philosophical  statement  of  principles, 
and  the  logical  deduction  of  conclusions.  The  human 
is  here  mingled  with  the  divine — in  the  last  two,  more 
than  in  the  first.  Conviction  cannot  be  equally  strong 
in  reference  to  all.  Conviction  in  reference  to  the  fun- 
damental portions  of  theology,  must  be  stronger  than 
in  reference  to  the  edifice  built  upon  them.  But  con- 
viction, so  far  as  it  really  exists — conviction  in  the  de- 
gree in  which  it  is  present  to  the  mind,  ought  surely  to 
be  expressed  with  corresponding  boldness  and  decision. 
Looking  at  theology  as  the  science  of  truth,  in  its  most 
momentous  forms — truth  binding  up  man's  well-being 
and  God's  glory — we  cannot  consistently  propound 
what  we  have  conscientiously  excogitated,  in  the  shape 
of  theological  doctrines,  in  any  other  than  a  positive, 
decided,  earnest,  hearty  spirit,  showing  that  we  regard 
as  wrong  and  mischievous  all  counter-theories.  As 
theologians,  we  must  take  a  side  in  all  grand  theological 
questions,  and  show  that  we  have  taken  a  side.  And 
in  theology,  as  in  religion,  surely  there  should  be  intol- 
erance of  what  is  conscientiously  deemed  to  be  error, 
hand  in  hand  with  a  perfect,  hearty  tolerance  of  the 
persons  holding  erroneous  opinions. 

Looking  at  the  account  given  of  Doddridge's  lecturing, 
his  mistake  seems  to  have  consisted  in  overlooking  this  : 
in  supposing  that  candor  and  love  towards  heterodox 
men  required  him  to  deal  gently  with  heterodox  jirinci- 


104-  PUBLIC    CAREER. 

pies — that  intolerance  in  reference  to  persons,  is  involved 
in  the  intolerance  which  has  reference  to  things. 

If  by  dogmatism  be  meant  the  habit  of  making  asser- 
tions without  proofs, — of  requiring  faith  on  the  ground 
of  an  ipse  dixit,  such  dogmatism  is  to  be  condemned ; 
but  if  by  the  dogmatist  be  meant  one  who  is  earnestly 
positive  in  what  he  asserts — being  prepared  to  give  a 
reason  for  what  he  believes,  and  trusting  only  to  that 
for  the  acceptance  of  his  dogmas, — every  theologian 
should  be  a  dogmatist.  We  protest  not  only  against 
scepticism,  but  the  appearance  of  scepticism,  where  we 
see  our  way  to  a  conclusion.  In  short,  we  plead  with 
boldness  for  a  positive  theology. 

No  doubt  can  be  cast  on  the  earnestness  of  Doddridge's 
religious  convictions.  These  he  most  warmly  asserted  in 
his  homiletic  class,  and  at  family  worship,  with  what 
effect  sometimes,  in  certain  of  the  young  men,  the  follow- 
ing passage  from  an  unpublished  letter  will  show  : — "  I 
was  last  night  expounding  the  1st  of  John  in  the  family, 
and  insisting  on  the  importance  of  remembering  and 
maintaining  the  Deity  and  satisfaction  of  Christ,  when 
some  of  our  good  preaching  seniors  were  pleased  to  ex- 
press their  contempt  of  what  they  heard,  by  laughing, 
and  almost  making  mouths.  You  will  probably  guess 
at  the  persons,  yet  they  are  those  whom  some  of  our 
wise  people  would  contrive  to  fix  where  Mr.  Some  and 
Mr.  Norris  were."*    All  could  not  be  right  in  an  academy 

*  MS.  letters  in  the  possession  of  Josh.  Wilson,  Esq. 


THE    TUTOR.  105 

where  sucli  things  occurred.  The  grand  defect  in  Dod- 
dridge seems  to  have  been  that,  in  reference  to  scientific 
theology,  he  considered  the  interests  of  moderation  and 
charity  required  him  sometimes  to  modify  the  utterance 
of  his  opinions  in  the  presence  of  those  whose  sentiments 
differed  from  his  own.  The  effect  likely  to  be  produced 
on  any  occasion  by  the  absence  of  a  positive  tone  in 
theological  teaching,  where  positive  conclusions  have 
been  actually  reached,  is  an  impression  that  those  con- 
clusions are  either  suspected  of  being  unsound,  or  are  felt 
to  be  unimportant.  We  fear  some  such  impressions  were 
occasionally  received  by  certain  of  Doddridge's  students.'" 
Doddridge  was  certainly  not  heterodox  in  his  opinions 
upon  the  redeeming  work  of  Christ,  and  the  regenerating 
operations  of  the  Spirit.  His  views  on  these  points 
were  moderately  Calvinistic.  It  is  also  clear  that  he 
fully  believed  in  the  incarnation  of  a  Divine  nature  in 
Jesus  Christ,  but  his  mode  of  conceiving  of  that  great 
mystery  somewhat  resembled  the  scheme  of  Sabellius.f 

*  It  is  very  refreshing  to  read  Doddridge's  declarations  of  his  own 
honesty  of  purpose,  under  the  uncharitable  imputation  some  threw 
upon  him.  "  The  reflections  which  have  been  thrown  upon  me,  as  a 
double-dealer  and  an  inconsistent  man,  have  often  put  me  upon  sub- 
mitting myself  to  the  scrutiny  of  the  all-searching  Eye  ;  and  in  my 
most  serious  and  solemn  moments.  I  have — I  thank  God — a  constant 
sense  of  the  uprightness  of  my  hear  before  Him,  and  can  say  with 
that  good  man  of  whose  afflictions  He  has  caused  me  in  this  instance 
to  partake,  '  Thou  knowest  that  I  am  not  wicked.'  Religion  is  with 
me  an  inward  thing  ;  and  if  it  were  not,  it  could  not  have  supported 
me,  as  it  hath  done,  in  the  nearest  view  of  the  Divine  tribunal." 

t  He  says  (Def.  lxxix.) — ;- The  word  '  person"  commonly  signifies 
one  single,  intelligent,  voluntary  agent,  or  conscious  beiug ;  and  this 


106  PUBLIC    CAREER. 

He  also  believed  in  the  pre-existence  of  the  created  soul 
in  Christ.*  It  should,  however,  be  remarked,  that  he 
was  not  of  the  speculative  turn  of  mind  which  distin- 
guished his  eminent  and  holy  friend  Dr.  Watts.  He 
did  net  dwell,  as  that  divine  was  prone  to  do,  on  the 
more  mysterious  bearings  of  theological  truth.     His  at- 

vve  choose  to  call  the  philosophical  sense  of  the  word  ;  hut  in  a  politi- 
cal sense  it  may  express  the  different  relations  supported  by  the  same 
philosophical  person  ;  i.  e.  the  same  man  maybe  father,  husband,  son, 
&c.  ;  or  the  same  prince,  King  of  Great  Britain,  Duke  of  Brunswick, 
and  treasurer  of  the  empire." 

"  Corollary  :  One  philosophical  person  may  sustain  a  great  number 
of  persons  in  the  political,  or,  as  some  call  it,  the  modal  sense  of  the 
word. 

"  Proposition  exxviii. — God  is  so  united  to  the  derived  nature  of 
Christ,  and  does  so  dwell  in  it,  that,  by  virtue  of  that  union,  Christ 
may  properly  be  called  God  ;  and  such  regards  become  due  to  him  as 
are  not  due  to  any  created  nature,  be  it  in  itself  ever  so  excellent/' — 
Miscellaneous  Works,  p.  427. 

Sabellius  converted  the  real  distinction  of  persons  into  a  distinction 
of  mere  modes.  God  is  called  Father  as  the  Creator  of  the  world, 
and  legislator  ;  Son  in  relation  to»the  work  of  redemption  ;  and  Huly 
Spirit,  as  the  sanctifier  of  men.  Hence,  he  regarded  these  three  modes 
of  manifestation  (according  to  Athanasius)  as  a  nyarvveoOai  or  ixTtiveaBai 
of  it. — Hagenbach,  History  of  Doctrines,  vol.  i.  p.  244. 

Some  resemblance  exists  between  Doddridge's  explanation  of  the 
word  "  person"  and  the  language  of  Sabellius,  but  we  question 
whether  he  would  have  adopted  the  mode  of  expression  reported  of 
the  latter. 

*  He  thus  expresses  his  belief  in  the  pre-existence  of  the  soul  of 
Jesus  Christ : — "  Forasmuch  as,  in  several  of  the  preceding  scriptures, 
there  is  such  a  change  and  humiliation  asserted  concerning  Christ,  as 
could  not  properly  be  asserted  concerning  an  eternal  and  immutable 
being  ;  as  such,  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  Christ  had,  before  his 
incarnation,  a  created  or  derived  nature,  which  would  admit  of  such 
a  change,  though  we  are  far  from  saying  he  had  no  other  nature,  and 
that  all  the  texts  above  refer  to.  this." — Lectures:  Miscellaneous 
Works,  p.  422. 


THE    AUTHOR.  107 

tempt  to  search  into  the  mode  of  the  Divine  Existence 
was  not  so  daring  as  the  gaze  of  his  brother  of  the  eagle 
eye  and  pinion  ;  vet  he  did  venture  to  look  into  that  in- 
sufferably glorious  secret,  and  no  wonder  that  when  he 
did,  his  eye  blenched,  as  the  eye  of  mortal  must,  and 
that  he  talked  strangely,  as  if  not  knowing  what  he  said. 
Though  Doddridge  was  very  far  from  P'oino-  to  such  an 
extreme,  it  may  not  be  impertinent  to  notice  that  some 
men,  in  their  speculations  upon  the  mysterious,  have 
thereby  completely  lost  themselves  in  the  subjects  they 
have  sought  to  understand.  They  remind  us  of  the  fable 
of  Aristotle's  death,  who  drowned  himself,  as  we  are  told, 
in  the  waves  of  the  Euripus,  because  he  could  not  dis- 
cover the  philosophy  of  its  tides,  exclaiming,  as  he  com- 
mitted the  suicidal  act,  "  Since  I  cannot  comprehend  you, 
you  shall  comprehend  me."  Certainly,  we  should  bear 
in  mind  that,  to  draw  a  clear  line  in  our  theological 
maps  between  the  terra  cognita  and  the  terra  incognita, 
is  a  primary  problem  which  every  divinity  student  should 
set  himself  to  solve. 


THE    AUTHOR. 

It  is  proper  to  preface  our  notice  of  Doddridge's  writ- 
ings by  some  reference  to  the  state  of  religion  among 
Dissenters  at  the  time  his  authorship  commenced,  as 
we  there  find  certainly  the  occasion  of  his  first  publica- 
tion, and  probably  a  circumstance  which  powerfully  con- 


108  PUBLIC    CAREER. 

tributed  to  guide  his  choice  of  practical  divinity  in  his 
whole  literary  career. 

The  great  lights  of  Nonconformity  were  almost  all 
extinguished  before  the  close  of  the  seventeenth  century. 
Of  the  illustrious  triumvirate,  Owen,  Baxter,  and  Howe, 
the  last  outlived  it  just  five  years.  Men  of  reputation, 
but  of  inferior  rank,  were  the  Dissenting  leaders  during 
the  early  part  of  the  eighteenth  century, — Mead,  Annesly, 
Sylvester,  Williams,  Pomfret,  Bennet,  M.  Clark,  M. 
Henry,  and  Tong.  The  place  of  such  men  was  occu- 
pied when  Doddridge  entered  the  ministry,  by  Harris, 
Calamy,  Wright,  Neale,  Saml.  Clark,  and  Watts,  the 
last  name  far  outpeering  all  the  rest  in  lustre.  Just 
before  this  period,  Arianism  began  to  lift  up  its  head. 
The  Exeter  controversy  commenced  in  1718.  The  Sal- 
ter's Hall  conference  followed  the  beginning  of  the  next 
year.  Among  Presbyterians  the  revival  of  heterodox 
sentiments  produced  sad  ravages.  And  if  they  did  not 
find  their  way  to  any  extent  into  Congregational  pul- 
pit?, yet  the  close  intercourse  at  that  time  between  the 
two  denominations  could  not  fail  to  bring  Congrega- 
tional  churches  within  the  range  of  this  withering  blight. 
In  many  cases  where  the  positive  errors  of  Arianism 
were  not  adopted,  their  paralyzing  touch  was  felt.  The 
counties  of  Devonshire,  Lancashire.  Cheshire,  and  War- 
wickshire, were  most  affected.  London,  also,  suffered 
considerably,  though  not  in  the  same  proportion.*    The 

*  "  The  writer  of  the  London  MS.  Bpecifies  the  sentiments  of  all 


THE    AUTHOR.  109 

efforts  of  Crisp  and  others,  on  the  side  of  Antinomianism, 
tended  to  produce  a  reaction  in  favor  of  an  opposite 
class  of  sentiments.  Men,  to  avoid  the  tropical  heat  of 
a  supra-lapsarian  creed,  plunged  into  the  polar  regions 
of  Pelagian  unbelief.  "But  as  in  the  irruption  of  a 
tempest,  it  is  often  narrow  in  its  span,  while  it  is  length- 
ened in  its  course,  so  was  it  with  the  inroad  of  heresy, 
and  numerous  and  flourishing  communities  existed  on 
either  hand  of  its  line  of  desolation.'7* 

It  appears,  on  comparing  a  list  of  Dissenting  congre- 
gations throughout  the  kingdom,  drawn  up  in  1716, 
with  another  list  made  in  1760,  that  the  numbers  had 
been  diminishing  through  that  period.  A  comparison 
of  a  list  of  the  metropolitan  churches  in  1695,  with 
another  in  1730,  also  shows  a  slight  decrease. 

This  sign  of  decay  was  perceptible  to  those  who  did 
not  discern  the  more  delicate,  but  not  less  serious  symp- 
toms. In  1730  an  anonymous  pamphlet  was  published, 
entitled  "  An  Inquiry  into  the  Causes  of  the  Decay  of 
the  Dissenting  Interest."!  The  writer  manifested  his 
ignorance  of  the  root  of  the  evil,  by  chiefly  complaining 
that  the  orthodox  party  were  so  bigoted, — that  sermons 

the  Dissenting  ministers  in  London  about  the  year  1730.  The  Pres- 
byterians he  classes  thus  : — Nineteen  Calvinists,  thirteen  Arminians, 
and  twelve  Baxterians.  All  the  Independents,  he  says,  were  Cal- 
vinists ;  twenty-seven  thoroughly,  and  one  somewhat  dubious — three 
inclined  to  Antinomianism,  and  two  who  were  disorderly  did  not  de- 
serve any  particular  remark."' — Bogue  and  Bennett,  ii.  300. 

*  Milners  Life  of  Watts. 

t  The  author  was  Mr.  Gough,  who  afterwards  conformed. 

K 


110  PUBLIC    CAREER. 

were  so  exceedingly  long,  and  prayers  were  so  very 
short — and  by  then  suggesting,  as  the  grand  remedy, 
that  Dissenting  ministers  should  cultivate  polite  and 
gentlemanly  habits.*  Many  vainly  wondered  at  the 
decay  they  witnessed.  They  saw  that  the  descendants 
of  Puritan  heroes  fell  far  short  of  their  fathers'  achieve- 
ments, and  "  wist  not  that  the  Lord  was  departed  from 
them." 

Dissent  is  not  an  end,  but  simply  a  means  to  an  end. 
Congregationalism  is  intended  to  lead  to  something 
further — nobler — brighter  than  itself.     It  is  an  instru- 

*  The  author  questions  the  assumption  of  extensive  decay,  notic- 
ing "  in  the  metropolis  several  of  the  congregations,  within  these  few 
vears,  that  have  been  raised  almost  from  nothing,  as  there  may  be 
others  which  have  sunk  considerably  below  what  they  were." 
Among  the  causes  of  existing  decay,  he  mentions  the  following : — 
Putting  youths  to  high-church  schools ;  decay  of  trade ;  neglect  of 
ministers,  and  their  occasional  immoralities  ;  encouragement  to  strol- 
ling Scotch  ministers  !  neglect  of  the  rising  generation  ;  mismanage- 
ment when  vacancies  happen ;  and  the  carriage  of  senior  ministers 
to  young  men. 

The  following  remarks  are  worthy  of  notice  : — "  The  case  with 
many  youths  of  considerable  merit  and  great  modesty  is  pretty  much 
the  same  as  with  a  tender  plant.  A  warm  and  kindly  sun,  temper- 
ate air,  and  proper  watering,  will  nourish  and  bring  it  to  maturity ; 
but  a  nipping  frost  and  bleak  wind  will  go  very  near  to  kill  it,  if  they 
do  not  quite  do  it.  Thus  it  is  in  the  case  mentioned.  A  senior  min- 
ister who  acts  the  part  of  a  father,  instils  into  them  good  advice  with 
tenderness  and  affection,  and  countenances  and  encourages  them,  if 
he  can  do  no  more,  will  be  a  means  of  confirming  them  and  fixing 
them  amongst  us.  But  if,  instead  of  this,  they  are  treated  with  se- 
verity— if  they  see  worthless,  confident  fellows  preferred  before 
them,  and  especially  if  they  have  ill  turns  done  them,  and  are  ill 
used, — they  will  certainly  be  discouraged,  and  in  danger  to  be  drawn 
from  us." 


THE    AUTHOR.  Ill 

merit  to  promote  spirituality  of  character,  purity  of  con- 
versation, distinctness  from  the  world,  union  of  hearts, 
and  combination  of  efforts.  Its  purpose  gives  it  value. 
If  its  framework  could  be  kept  in  perfect  order  without 
being  employed  for  these  holy  ends,  it  would  be  only 
like  a  piece  of  machinery  in  a  show-room,  deserving  of 
inspection,  but  of  no  practical  worth.  Congregational- 
ism is  not  an  originating  impulse  ;  but  a  scheme  to  be 
worked  by  wise  and  holy  power.  It  must  be  impelled 
by  faith,  devotion,  and  zeal ;  and  must  be  guided  by 
knowledge,  prudence,  and  integrity.  One  of  its  dis- 
tinctive attributes,  as  a  system  of  voluntaryism,  resolves 
itself  simply  into  the  absence  of  coercion.  The  Dissen- 
ter is  left  to  act  according  to  his  conscientious  convic- 
tions— he  is  not  compelled  by  the  dictum  of  his  eccle- 
siastical governors.  The  impelling  power  must  be 
sought  in  simple,  earnest  piety.  "  The  spirit  of  the 
living  creature  must  be  in  the  wheels."'  Ecelesii 
organization  cannot  of  itself  command  God's  blessing. 
Evangelical  truth  and  personal  holiness  are,  in  God's 
sight,  incomparably  superior  to  all  positive  institutes. 
"  To  obey  is  better  than  sacrifice ;  to  hearken,  than  the 
fat  of  rams."  The  system  may  be  kept  intact,  may  be 
squared  with  the  nicest  accuracy,  according  to  the  prim- 
itive model ;  but,  should  the  gospel  be  corrupted — 
should  it  be  only  imperfectly  preached — should  personal 
piety,  in  pastor  or  people,  sink  to  a  low  ebb,  the  integ- 
rity of  ecclesiastical  order  will  avail  nothing.     Piety, 


112  PUBLIC    CAREER. 

then,  is  everything  to  Dissent.  It  stands  to  it  in  the 
relation  of  both  means  and  end.  The  improvement  and 
diffusion  of  piety  form  its  purpose ;  the  existence  and 
exercise  of  piety,  its  principle.  From  beginning  to  end 
it  supposes  spiritual  life.  Whether  its  churches  be  re- 
garded as  moral  gardens,  schools,  or  homes,  they  sup- 
pose life  in  what  is  there  planted  or  placed,  for  culture, 
training,  or  comfort. 

This  was  Doddridge's  view.  The  publication  of  the 
"Inquiry"  excited  his  attention,  and  called  forth  from 
him  a  reply.  In  1730  he  published  "Free  Thoughts 
on  the  Best  Means  of  reviving  the  Dissenting  Interest."* 

Kippis  says  it  is  "  a  model  of  candor  and  politeness." 
"No  doubt  it  is  ;  but  it  has  incomparably  greater  excel- 
lences to  recommend  it  to  the  friends  of  spiritual  religion. 
Doddridge  peeled  off  the  rind,  and  pierced  the  mischief 
to  the  core.  "  We  are  concerned,"  he  says,  "  for  this  in- 
terest, not  merely  as  the  cause  of  a  distinct  party,  but  of 
truth,  honor,  and  liberty;  and  I  will  add,  in  a  great 
measure,  the  cause  of  serious  piety  too."  He  suggests, 
therefore,  the  reflection,  whether  the  decline  of  Dissent, 
so  far  as  it  obtained,  did  not  arise  very  much  from  a  de- 
clension in  godliness  among  Dissenters.  Adding,  "  If 
we  find,  upon  inquiry,  that  this  our  glory  is  departing, 
it  surely  deserves  to  be  mentioned  as  one  cause,  at  least, 

*  Mr.  David  Some,  of  Market  Harborough,  to  whom  Doddridge 
was  assistant,  wrote  on  the  subject  the  year  before.  ,;  The  Humble 
Attempt  towards  the  Revival  of  Practical  Religion,"  &c,  by  Dr. 
Watts,  was  published  the  year  after. 


THE    AUTHOR.  113 

of  the  decay  of  our  interest ;  and  that  all  who  sincerely 
wish  well  to  it,  should  express  their  affection  by  exerting 
themselves,  with  the  utmost  zeal,  for  the  revival  of  prac- 
tical religion  amongst  us." 

As  to  the  means  of  improvement,  he  wisely  suggests 
a  strain  of  preaching,  not  drily  orthodox,  but  full  of  ear- 
nestness and  unction ;  evangelical  in  its  tone  as  well  as 
in  its  creed,  and  marked  by  that  prime  feature  of  excel- 
lence— adaptation  to  the  popular  mind  of  the  age.  He 
rightly  considers  that  the  mass  of  the  common  people 
are  the  strength  of  Dissenting  churches,  and  describes 
and  urges  such  a  kind  of  public  ministration  as  is  suited 
to  them.  This  he  does  with  a  clearness  and  a  force 
well  worthy  of  the  devout  consideration  of  the  whole 
Christian  ministry  in  the  present  day.  He  makes  the 
observation — which,  however  trite,  is  happily  still  so 
true — (and  woe  be  to  us  if  we  heed  it  not !)  "  He  who 
would  be  generally  agreeable  to  Dissenters,  must  be  an 
evangelical,  an  experimental,  a  plain,  and  an  affectionate 
preacher."  With  equal  pertinency  he  also  recommends 
consistency  of  Christian  life,  the  care  of  the  young,  and 
a  conciliatory  temper  towards  all  Christ's  followers. 

In  this  first  work  by  Doddridge  we  may  discover  the 
key  to  his  whole  literary  career.  The  purpose  of  his 
first  pamphlet  was  the  purpose  of  every  book  he  wrote — 
to  revive,  strengthen,  and  develop  spiritual  life.  He 
was,  according  to  the  standard  of  attainment  at  that  day, 
a  scholar,  critic,  and  philosopher;  but  not  in  any  of 

K* 


114  PUBLIC    CAREER. 

those  characters  does  he  claim,  or  did  he  seek,  the  palm 
of  pre-eminence.  A  fame — if  not  so  brilliant  in  the  re- 
public of  letters,  yet  illustrious  indeed  in  the  holy  king- 
dom of  the  Lord  of  truth  and  love — belongs  to  him  as 
a  practical  divine.  He  was  a  man  of  literary  and  scien- 
tific tastes,  He  had,  from  the  cast  of  his  mind  and  the 
course  of  his  education,  a  keen  relish  for  that  refined  en- 
joyment which  is  found  in  the  pursuit  of  elegant  litera- 
ture. He  was  sensible  of  the  charms  presented  in  the 
classical  poets,  philosophers,  and  orators.  The  desire 
which  animates  the  genuine  scholar  was  in  his  breast  no 
unwonted  feeling  ;  and  the  ambition  which  haunts  such 
an  one  was  to  him  no  strange  lure.  It  would  have 
pleased  him,  as  a  man  and  a  student,  to  have  won 
wreaths  in  the  games  of  the  intellectual  Olympia.  All 
this  is  evident  from  confessions  in  his  letters,  and  from 
allusions  in  his  works.  But  he  mortified  his  taste  ;  he 
repressed  his  predilections  ;  he  resisted  classic  charms ; 
he  overcame  intellectual  ambition  ;  he  left  Olympia  for 
that  race-course  in  which  the  day  of  Christ  will  show  he 
did  not  run  in  vain. 

In  the  following  passage  from  his  sermon  on  The 
Evil  and  Danger  of  neglecting  Souls,  this  tone  of  holy 
self-denial  more  than  vies  with  its  felicity  of  illustra- 
tion : — "  You  must  judge  for  yourselves,  but  permit  me 
to  say,  that,  for  my  own  part,  I  would  not  for  ten  thou- 
sand worlds  be  that  man  who,  when  God  shall  ask  him 
at  last  how  he  has  employed  most  of  his  time  while  he 


THE    AUTHOR.  115 

continued  a  minister  in  His  church,  and  had  the  care  of 
souls,  should  be  obliged  to  reply,  '  Lord,  I  have  restored 
many  corrupted  passages  in  the  ancient  classics,  and 
illustrated  many  that  were  before  obscure ;  I  have 
cleared  up  many  intricacies  in  chronology  or  geography ; 
I  have  solved  many  perplexed  cases  in  algebra ;  I  have 
refined  on  astronomical  calculations,  and  left  behind  me 
many  sheets  on  these  curious  and  difficult  subjects, 
where  the  figures  are  ranged  with  the  greatest  exactness 
and  truth ;  and  these  are  the  employments  in  which  my 
life  has  been  worn  out,  while  preparation  for  the  pulpit, 
or  ministrations  in  it,  did  not  demand  my  immediate 
attendance.'  Oh,  sirs !  as  for  the  waters  which  are 
drawn  from  these  springs,  how  sweetly  soever  they  may 
taste  to  a  curious  mind  that  thirsts  for  them,  or  to  an 
ambitious  mind  which  thirsts  for  the  applauses  they 
sometimes  procure,  I  fear  there  is  often  reason  to  pour 
them  out  before  the  Lord  with  rivers  of  penitential  tears, 
as  the  blood  of  souls  which  have  been  forgotten,  while 
these  trifles  have  been  remembered  and  pursued." 

The  religious  spirit  of  Doddridge's  literary  career  was 
very  noble.  It  was  not  the  heroic  age  of  Dissent,  nor  an 
heroic  age  in  any  sense.  It  was  an  age  of  frost,  not  fire. 
There  was  at  least  a  dash  of  the  sublime  in  the  man  who 
sought  to  melt  the  ice. 

A  large  portion  of  his  works  is  composed  of  sermons, 
in  all  of  which  it  is  evident  enough  that  he  aims  to  shine 
simply  as  a  guiding-star  to  Christ.     His  Sermons  on  the 


116  PUBLIC    CAREER. 

Education  of  Children,  published  in  1732,  and  those  ad- 
dressed to  young  people,  which  issued  from  the  press  in 
1735,  were  adapted,  Avith  eminent  skilfulness,  to  the  par- 
ticular kind  of  holy  use  indicated  by  their  titles.  "  Your 
Sermons  to  Young  People,"  said  Warburton,  in  one  of 
his  letters,  "  were  extremely  agreeable  to  me  on  many 
accounts.  I  have  a  favorite  nephew,  to  whose  use  I  par- 
ticularly design  them.  It  is  my  way,  after  I  read  a  book, 
to  give  the  general  character  of  it  in  some  celebrated 
lines  or  other  of  ancient  or  modern  writers.  I  have 
characterized  the  author  and  his  sermons  in  these  two 
lines,  written  on  the  blank  leaf  before  the  title-page : — 

'  O  friend  !  to  dazzle  let  the  vain  design  ; 
To  mend  the  heart,  and  raise  the  thoughts,  be  thine.' " 

The  Sermons  on  "  the  Power  and  Grace  of  Christ," 
and  the  "  Evidences  of  the  Glorious  Gospel,"  which  were 
produced  in  1736,  contain  a  touching  and  tender  exhibi- 
tion of  the  mystery  of  the  cross  for  the  comfort  of  sor- 
row-stricken souls,  and  an  argument  for  the  Divine 
origin  of  Christianity,  conducted  with  so  much  wisdom 
and  love,  that  it  seems  as  if  it  must  shut  up  the  unbe- 
liever to  the  faith  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus.  The  scrip- 
tural doctrine  of  "  Salvation  by  Grace,"  and  the  "  Prac- 
tical Discourses  on  Regeneration,"  which  were  given  to 
the  public  in  1741,  are  admirable  exhibitions  of  the 
grand  method  by  which  omnipotent  mercy  redeems  and 
renews  the  sinful  children  of  men.    Besides  these  volumes 


THE    AUTHOR.  117 

of  homiletic  theology,  he  published  a  number  of  de- 
tached discourses  on  particular  occasions,  all  of  which 
glow  with  the  fire  of  his  wonted  loving  zeal.* 

His  Memoirs  of  Colonel  Gardiner  exhibit  the  charac- 
ter of  that  soldier  and  saint  in  perfect  sympathy  with, 
the  deep-toned  piety  of  him  whom  they  commemorate; 
and  it  should  not  be  overlooked  that  its  publication,  as 
indeed  he  might  expect  it  would,  brought  upon  him 
criticisms  of  no  flattering  order  to  human  pride,  from 
worldly  circles,  into  which  his  name  had  found  its  way 
with  a  high  reputation  for  learning  and  ability.f 

The  life  of  the  Rev.  Thomas  Steffe,  a  beloved  pupil, 
is  a  beautiful  sketch  of  a  youthful  minister  of  Christ,  of 
exemplary  devotedness ;  and  the  book  is  evidently  in- 
tended to  arouse  the  Christian  ministry  to  a  more  earn- 
est discharge  of  their  holy  duties.  "  The  Rise  and  Pro- 
gress of  Religion  in  the  Soul,'1  which  has  so  widely 

*  Besides  the  pieces  included  in  his  works,  he  wrote  a  Dedication 
of  the  Rev.  D.  Brainerd's  Journal  to  the  Honorable  Society  for  Pro- 
moting Christian  Knowledge.  Also  a  Preface  to  a  small  piece  by 
Mr.  Some,  respecting  inoculating  for  the  small-pox,  with  a  view  to 
remove  religious  scruples.  Further,  he  revised  and  edited  Leighton's 
Works,  and  translated  his  later  productions. 

t  "  I  assure  you,  my  omitting  to  write  did  not  proceed  from  dis- 
respect, for  1  really  look  upon  you  as  my  superior  in  every  respect 
in  which  superiority  is  to  be  valued  in  knowledge,  and  piety,  and 
good  works.  But  what  could  I  have  said  to  you  if  I  had  wrote  to 
you  ?  Could  I  have  told  you  that  I  thought  it  a  good  performance, 
and  such  as  would  be  of  use  to  the  world  ?  That  I  could  not.  after 
the  many  reflections  that  I  heard  the  world  make  upon  it.  I  could 
only  have  told  you  how  much  I  wished  that  you  had  never  published 
it." — From  the  Rev.  Dr.  Ayscough,  tutor  to  George  III. 


118  PUBLIC    CAREER. 

spread  the  fame  of  Doddridge,  is  the  working  out  of  an 
original  conception  for  the  guidance  of  spiritual  inqui- 
rers. No  work  of  that  kind  existed  at  the  time,  and 
some  such  a  manual  was  much  needed.  The  first  con- 
ception, however,  was  not  his  own  ;  it  arose  in  the  mind 
of  his  reverend  friend,  Dr.  Watts ;  "  but,  compelled  by 
his  growing  infirmities  to  abandon  his  purpose,  he  relin- 
quished the  task  to  Dr.  Doddridge,  who  after  some  hesi- 
tation yielded  to  his  importunity,  and  completed  the 
performance."*  The  prosecution  of  such  a  task  fell  in 
with  the  ruling  passion  of  his  life,  and  it  is  very  inter- 
esting to  notice  the  union  of  these  two  holy  minds  in 
so  congenial  a  work, — the  one  like  an  inventive  archi- 
tect drawing  the  plan,  and  the  other  like  a  skilful  builder 
executing  the  design  of  a  spiritual  lighthouse  for  the 
guidance  of  perplexed  mariners  into  the  calm  haven  of 
redeeming  mercy  ;  and  great  indeed  will  be  their  sym- 
pathy in  joy,  when  they  become  acquainted  with  the 
full  number  of  the  souls  which  together  they  shall  have 
thus  saved  from  the  worst  of  shipwrecks.f 

The  book  is  not  faultless.  A  more  predominant  ex- 
hibition of  the  gospel  remedy  would  have  been  more 
apostolic,  and  it  Avould  have  prevented  an  evil  which 
some  have  experienced  on  reading  it,  who  have  entan- 

*  The  Poet  of  the  Sanctuary,  by  Josiah  Couder,  Esq.,  p.  129. 

t  Dr.  Watts  said,  in  a  letter  to  the  Rev.  D.  Longueville,  minister 
at  Amsterdam,  "  If  there  were  any  man  to  whom  Providence  would 
permit  me  to  commit  a  second  part  of  my  life  and  usefulness  in  the 
Church,  Dr.  Doddridge  should  be  the  man." 


THE    AUTHOR.  119 

gled  themselves  in  its  technical  details,  and  who,  in 
their  anxiety  to  keep  the  track  of  the  rise  and  progress, 
have  forgotten  that,  after  all,  the  grand  object  is  to  reach 
the  cross.  But  with  every  reasonable  abatement  it  is 
the  best  book  of  the  eighteenth  century,  and,  tried  by 
the  test  of  usefulness,  we  doubt  if  its  equal  has  since  ap- 
peared. Rendered  into  the  leading  languages  of  Eu- 
rope, it  has  been  read  by  few  without  impression,  and, 
in  the  case  of  vast  numbers,  that  impression  has  been 
enduring.*  Doddridge's  "  Principles  of  the  Christian 
Religion,  in  Plain  and  Easy  Verse,"  another  of  the 
many  lamps  he  lighted  up  in  Zion's  highway,  was  also 
kindled  at  Watts's  torch,  and  shows  how,  like  his  hon- 
ored friend  and  model,  he  condescended  or  aspired  to 
be  a  teacher  of  babes.f  His  hymns,  condensing  the 
principal  thoughts  of  his  discourses,  are  relics  choicely 

*  North  British  Review. 

t  la  an  unpublished  letter  of  Doddridge  to  his  wife,  he  says — "  I 
have  been  amusing  myself  with  making  some  little  verses  for  the 
children.  'Tis  a  work  Mr.  Clark,  of  St.  Alban's,  proposed  to  me, — 
that  I  should  draw  up  a  little  summary  of  religion  in  verse,  for  the 
use  of  little  children,  pretty  much  in  sense  the  same  with  Dr.  Watts's 
Second  Catechism,  which  is  the  best  short  compendium  I  ever  saw 
for  matter  and  method.  I  have  insensibly  crept  on  through  about  a 
third  part  of  the  whole,  and  hope  to  end  in  a  fortnight  more."  This 
little  work  was  presented,  through  Dr.  Ayscough,  his  tutor,  to  George 
III.,  then  a  boy.  The  tutor  says,  Feb.  16,  1745—"  I  must  tell  you, 
Prince  George  (to  his  honor  and  my  shame)  has  learned  several  pages 
in  your  little  book  of  verses,  without  any  direction  from  me."  I 
have  been  informed  by  my  friend,  the  Rev.  W.  Legg,  of  Fakenham. 
that  his  uncle,  who  held  an  appointment  in  Windsor  Castle,  was 
once  told  by  the  King,  ''  If  I  know  anything  of  religion,  I  owe  it  to 
Dr.  Ayscough,  and  that  at  an  early  age." 


120  PUBLIC    CAREER. 

transparent,  and  truly  rich.  And  well  have  they  been 
compared  to  "spiritual  amber  fetched  up  and  floated 
off,"  from  sermons  long  since  lost  in  the  depths  of  by- 
gone time.'*  His  great  work,  the  "  Family  Expositor," 
is  in  perfect  harmony  with  his  other  books.  The  desire 
to  purify  and  refresh  the  soul  of  the  reader,  gushes  out 
with  a  blessed  fulness  at  the  end  of  every  section,  in  the 
form  of  an  "  Improvement,"  and  sparkles  ever  and  anon 
in  living  rivulets,  under  the  hedges  of  a  fruitful  criticism, 
which  border  every  page ;  and  the  prefaces  too,  espe- 
cially the  earlier  ones,  indicate  the  deeply  devout  spirit 
in  which  each  volume  was  prepared,  and  the  definite  and 
supreme  purpose  of  the  author,  throughout  to  promote 
family  religion.  Hence  Warburton,  when  he  received 
the  first  volume,  afresh  applauded  the  useful  turn  of  his 
friend's  great  talents : — "  Before  I  left  the  country,  I 
had  the  pleasure  of  receiving  your  '  Expositor.'  My 
mother  and  I  look  at  it  by  turns.  She,  who  is  superior 
to  me  in  everything,  aspired  to  the  divine  learning  of 
the  '  Improvements,'  while  I  kept  grovelling  in  the  hu- 
man learning  in  the  notes  below.     The  result  of  all 


*  They  were  not  published  till  after  his  death.  Mrs.  Doddridge 
says  to  Mr.  Orton,  May  4,  1755 — "  I  have  the  pleasure  to  find,  so  far 
as  this  book  as  yet  has  been  known,  it  has  met  with  pretty  general 
acceptance.  Many  of  my  best  friends  consider  it  as  a  valuable  sup- 
plement to  Dr.  Watts,  and,  as  such,  are  solicitous  to  introduce  it 
into  their  respective  congregations,  along  with  his.  I  think  I  can 
truly  say,  I  more  wish  this  may  be  generally  done,  from  the  hope  I 
have  they  may  do  something  to  revive  religion  in  the  world,  than 
from  any  personal  advantage." — Unpublished  Correspondence. 


THE    AUTHOR.  121 

was,  that  slie  says  she  is  sure  you  are  a  very  good  man, 
and  I  am  sure  you  are  a  very  learned  one."*  The  only 
thing  that  Doddridge  published  of  a  strictly  controver- 
sial kind,  was  in  answer  to  a  pamphlet  entitled  "  Chris- 
tianity not  founded  on  Argument."  The  work  to  which 
Doddridge  replied,  very  strikingly  resembles  some  of  the 
pernicious  speculations  of  the  present  day,  inasmuch  as 
the  writer,  while  professing  reverence  for  our  religion, 
denies  that^it  can  ever  be  proved  by  historical  evidence, 
and  asserts,  that  when  it  is  believed,  it  can  be  so  only 
as  the  effect  of  personal  inspiration.  Through  the  whole 
texture  of  Doddridge's  strong  reasoning  in  reply,  there 
run  those  golden  threads  of  thought  and  emotion  which 
only  pious  minds  can  weave,  and  at  the  end  these  are 
again  displayed  in  a  beautiful  tissue  of  elaborate  and  con- 
vincing arguments,  expiatory  and  defensive,  of  those 
views  of  Divine  influence  commonly  believed  among  us. 

*  "  Dr.  Doddridge,  while  engaged  with  his  '  Expositor,'  was  in 
the  habit  of  consulting  one  of  the  old  members  of  his  church  on  those 
texts  of  Scripture  which  contain  in  them  the  heights  and  depths  of 
Christian  experience — conduct  equally  complimentary  to  the  Doc- 
tor's condescension  and  the  venerable  man's  piety.  The  Doctor, 
though  a  pious  man  himself,  knew  that  experimental  religion  was 
progressive  in  its  character  and  operations,  and  beheld  his  hoary  audi- 
tor as  having  many  years  the  advance  of  him — beheld  him  like  mel- 
low fruit,  ready  to  drop  off,  or  to  be  plucked  for  heaven.  He  was 
aware  that  he  himself  wanted  age  and  experience  for  several  passa- 
ges; and,  although  he  brought  all  that  he  possessed  to  bear  upon 
them,  he  suspected  there  was  still  something  beyond.  To  his  own 
head,  he  required  the  advantages  of  the  old  man's  heart ;  and  united, 
knowledge  and  experience  tell  upon  the  understandings  and  affections 
of  others." — Rev.  James  Everitt. 

L 


122  PUBLIC    CAREER. 

Thus  a  spirit  of  earnest  piety  animates  all  his  produc- 
tions. This  gives  them  their  chief,  but  not  their  only 
charm.  They  exhibit  traits  of  literary  excellence,  per- 
taining to  a  high  order.  The  works  which  would  occupy 
in  this  respect  the  principal  place,  are  the  "Expositor," 
the  "  Lectures,1'  and  the  controversial  piece  last  noticed. 
The  "  Family  Expositor"  was  the  chef-d'oeuvre  of  Dod- 
dridge, and  carefully  and  slowly  he  piled  up  the  stores 
of  this  enduring  monument  of  his  learning  #and  ability. 
"I  am  drawing  up,"  he  says,  as  early  as  1724,  "but 
only  for  my  own  use,  a  sort  of  aiialytical  scheme  of  the 
contents  of  the  Epistles  of  the  New  Testament."  Un- 
consciously he  was  then  laying  the  foundation  of  his 
great  work.  Twelve  years  afterwards,  the  result  of  his 
studies  had  shaj>ed  itself  into  decided  form,  and,  with  all 
the  trembling  interest  of  an  ^ithor,  contemplating  the 
publication  of  the  main  labor  of  his  life,  he  divulges  his 
plan  to  his  friend  Dr.  Clark.  But  just  as  he  was  on  the 
eve  of  printing  the  first  volume,  it  was  in  danger  of 
being  destroyed,  for  some  papers  in  his  study  having  ac- 
cidentally caught  fire,  the  flames  reached  this,  his  most 
precious  MS.*  The  alarm  excited  by  the  discovery  was, 
however,  succeeded  by  gratitude  for  the  kind  care  of 
Providence  ;  for  though  the  papers  were  scorched  at  the 

*  A  portion  of  the  MS.  of  the  "Expositor,''  bearing  on  its  burnt 
edges  signs  of  this  accident,  is,  I  am  informed,  in  the  possession  of 
Mr.  Bealby,  North  Brixton  Volumes  of  copious  notes,  in  shorthand, 
containing  the  materials  for  the  "  Expositor,"  are  preserved  in  the 
Library  of  the  Coward  Trustees. 


THE    AUTHOR.  123 

edges,  and  bathed  in  molten  wax,  the  written  contents 
were  all  preserved, — a  circumstance  which  called  forth 
from  the  pious  author  expression  of  devout  praise. 

In  1739  the  first  volume  appeared;*  the  others  fol- 
lowed at  intervals, — the  preparation  of  the  work  forming 
his  early  employment  before  breakfast,  and  absorbing 
all  the  moments  he  could  spare  from  his  other  numerous 
toils.  Tradition  says,  that  in  the  room  over  the  gate- 
way of  the  academic  dwelling  in  Sheep-street,  this  busy 
student  pursued  his  expository  labors  ;  and  as  one  muses 
in  the  old  chamber,  fancy  pictures  him  there  poring  over 
folios  of  learned  lore,  dotting  down  memoranda  of  judi- 
cious criticism,  or,  with  a  heavenly  smile,  guiding  his 

*  In  a  letter  to  Mrs.  Doddridge,  Feb.  1738,  he  says,  "  Hett  hath  bid 
me  four  hundred  guineas  for  my  'Family  Expositor  on  the  Evange- 
lists,' and  will  take  all  the  trduble  and  charge  of  the  impression  on 
himself,  and  pay  me  the  money  down.'' — The  first  volume,  however, 
was  published  by  subscription.  Ten  years  afterwards,  we  find  him 
in  treaty  for  the  publication  of  the  fourth  volume,  on  the  Epistles. 
Mrs.  Doddridge  says,  July  28, 1748,  '•  I  rejoice  your  journey  has  here- 
tofore been  on  all  accounts  so  pleasant.  Permit  me  to  congratulate 
you  on  the  good  end  you  have  made  of  that  troublesome  affair. 
Eighty  guineas  is  more  than  I  expected,  as  things  stood."  It  may  be 
worth  while  to  add  another  extract  from  the  same  letter  : — "  I  wish 
my  dear  a  pleasant  interview  with  my  Lord  Archbishop.  Indeed, 
you  are  so  much  taken  up  amongst  these  great  people,  that  I  do  not 
know  how  you  will  condescend  to  converse  with  us  poor  mortals 
when  you  return.  *  *  Our  country  is  grown  so  good,  that  our 
judges  have  scarce  any  business,  and  would,  of  course,  have  been  at 
full  leisure  to  have  enjoyed  the  pleasure  of  your  company,  had  you 
been  here  ;  it  is  a  little  unlucky  that  the  persons  you  most  wish  to  see, 
generally  come  when  you  are  absent.  Baron  Parker  officiated  at  the 
crown  bar  last  night,  and  Judge  Abney  will,  I  believe,  have  done  be- 
fore noon  to-day." — Unpublished  Correspondence. 


124  PUBLIC    CAREER. 

pen,  while  it  leaves  behind  it  copious  streams  of  rich, 
fervid  eloquence. 

It  appears  from  Orton's  Preface  to  the  sixth  volume 
of  the  "  Expositor,"  published  after  the  author's  death, 
that  he  had  commenced  the  former  one,  beginning  with 
the  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  under  the  impression  that 
"  the  time  of  his  departure  was  at  hand."  The  feeling 
pervaded  his  mind  throughout  the  subsequent  execution 
of  his  large  design — it  prompted  him  to  unwearied  dili- 
gence— induced  him  to  work  at  his  holy  task  wherever 
he  might  be,  at  home  or  abroad,  without  a  day's  cessa- 
tion, and  no  doubt  contributed  to  enable  him  to  com- 
plete the  first  copy  in  the  space  of  exactly  two  years  after 
beginning  it.  Every  reader  is  familiar  with  the  story  of 
Gibbon's  pacing  his  favorite  walk  at  Lausanne,  on  the 
enchanting  banks  of  Lake  Leman,  that  memorable  night 
when  he  had  penned  the  last  sentence  of  the  "  Decline 
and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire."  With  emotions  more 
enviable  did  Doddridge  write — "  Through  the  good  hand 
of  God  upon  me,  which  I  desire  most  thankfully  to  ac- 
knowledge, I  ended  the  first  copy  of  the  '  Family  Exposi- 
tor,' Dec.  31,  1748,  exactly  two  years  after  I  began  to 
write  upon  the  Romans,  having  pursued  it  during  that 
time  without  the  interruption  of  one  single  day  ;  such 
health  and  such  resolution  did  it  please  God  to  give  me 
amidst  the  various  scenes  of  business,  danger,  and  amuse- 
ment through  which  I  passed.  May  His  grace  raise 
Himself  a  monument  of  praise  from  this  feeble  effort  to 


THE    AUTHOR.  125 

explain,  illustrate,  and  enforce  His  Word." — "  I  ended 
my  notes  on  the  books  I  had  thus  paraphrased  and  im- 
proved, August  21, 1*749,  having  daily  pursued  the  work 
in  like  manner,  whether  at  home  or  abroad."* 

Though  far  inferior  to  the  expository  labors  of  Calvin 
and  Beza,  those  of  Doddridge  will  bear  very  favorable 
comparison  with  the  efforts  of  preceding  English  authors 
in  the  field  of  biblical  criticism.  Less  profoundly  learned 
than  Hammond  or  Patrick,  and  less  acute  than  Whitby, 
he,  excelled  them  most  decidedly  in  the  perception  of 
the  true  spirit  of  the  Scriptures.  With  this  prime  pre- 
requisite for  his  work,  he  brought  to  it  also  a  measure 
of  scholarship  far  superior  to  that  of  Henry  or  Pool ; 
while  at  the  same  time,  the  liveliness  of  his  manner  ap- 
pears in  striking  contrast  with  the  leaden  qualities  of  Dr. 
Gill.  Doddridge  is  still  cited  as  an  authority  in  our 
critical  Digests,  and  is  spoken  of  with  great  respect  in  our 
best  works  of  critical  erudition.  The  Bishop  of  Durham 
goes  so  far  as  to  say,  "  I  know  of  no  expositor  who  unites 

"  It  appears  that  Dr.  Doddridge  intended  to  produce  a  work  on 
some  parts  of  the  Old  Testament,  on  the  plan  of  the  "  Family  Exposi- 
tor." Mr.  Morell,  in  his  introductory  Essay  to  Doddridge's  Mis- 
cellaneous "Works  quotes  the  following  lines  from  a  MS.  on  the  Minor 
Prophets,  found  among  Doddridge's  papers: — 

"  A  new  Translation  of  the  Minor  Prophets,  with  a  short  Paraphrase 
on  those  passages  which  seemed  most  to  require  it,  divided  into 
proper  sections,  with  a  practical  improvement  of  each,  for  the  use  of 
families,  and  with  large  contents  to  each.  Began  Hosea,  Oct.  1, 
1750  ;  Joel,  Oct.  29  ;  Amos,  Nov.  9  ;  Obadiah,  Dec.  3  ;  Jouah,  Dec. 
7  ;  Micah,  Dec.  20  ;  Nahum,  Jan.  7  ;  Hab.,  Jan.  22  ;  Zeph.,  March  8; 
Hag.,  March  25;  Zech.,  April  1 ;  Mai.,  May  14.  The  whole  ended 
June  5,  1751,"  (about  five  months  before  his  death). 

T* 


126  PUBLIC    CAREER. 

so  many  advantages  as  Doddridge."  The  course  of 
Lectures  which,  from  their  mathematical  form,  exclude 
the  graces  of  composition,  must  be  judged  of  according 
to  the  research  they  indicate,  and  the  reasoning  they 
embody.  The  former  appears  to  have  been  surprisingly 
great ;  the  range  of  reading  necessary  for  such  a  produc- 
tion must  have  been  immense.  The  latter  is  luminous 
and  strong,  placing  the  lecturer's  opinions  always  in  a 
clear  light,  and  generally  on  grounds  quite  satisfactory. 
To  the  form,  however,  exceptions  may  be  taken,  not 
merely  on  the  score  of  taste,  but  because,  mathematical 
and  moral  reasoning  being  essentially  distinct,  the  form 
of  the  one  is  not  strictly  applicable  to  the  other. 

The  letters  in  answer  to  "  Christianity  not  founded  on 
Argument,"  reflect  bright  honor  on  the  Doctor's  acute- 
ness  and  skill  in  argument.  Rarely  has  a  controversial 
work  appeared  of  equal  ability.  It  deserved  the  ap- 
plause which  it  soon  received.  It  was  fraught  with 
power  more  than  sufficient  for  its  task,  and  quite  equal 
to  its  superlative  temper.  Precision,  order,  clearness, 
continuity,  force,  all  on  the  same  high  level,  distinguish 
this  masterly  production  from  beginning  to  end ;  and 
well  would  it  repay  careful  perusal,  now  that  the  infidel 
controversy  is  being  revived  in  a  similar  form,  and  under 
the  same  specious  but  intolerably  false  pretences.* 

*  This  piece  was  much  applauded  by  Mr.  (afterwards  Lord)  Lyt- 
telton. — See  Doddridge's  Correspondence,  vol.  iv.  p.  191.  I  feel  it 
my  duty  here  to  observe,  that  on  comparing  the  MSS.  of  Doddridge's 
letters  with  the  correspondence  published,  it    appears  that  very 


THE    AUTHOR.  127 

A  remarkable  evenness  appears  in  Doddridge's  com- 
positions. They  do  not  present  much  to  provoke  or 
invite  criticism.  Their  faults  are  not  such  as  to  call  for 
severe  censure,  nor  their  excellences  such  as  to  extort 
rapturous  praise.  In  reading  his  works  we  are  not  de- 
tained, either  by  glaring  imperfections  or  by  glowing 
beauties,  but  we  glide  on  quietly,  pleased  in  a  high  de- 
gree by  the  calm  loveliness  of  the  whole  prospect. 
Doddridge  compared  Baxter  to  Demosthenes  ;  Kippis 
has  paid  Doddridge  the  compliment  of  comparing  him 
to  Cicero.  The  compliment  betrays  partiality,  espe- 
cially as  it  regards  the  diction  of  the  English  divine, 
which  lacks  the  perfect  finish  and  peerless  rhythm  of 
the  classic  model.  There  is  a  polish,  however,  in  Dodd- 
ridge's style,  such  as  we  miss  in  most  of  his  noncon- 
formist and  many  of  his  episcopal  predecessors.  He 
had  studied  in  the  Addisonian  school,  but  he  suffered 
himself  to  indulge  in  too  great  a  redundancy  of  expres- 
sion ;  yet  many  happy  turns  of  language  show  his  power 
over  that  instrument  of  thought,  and  several  of  his 
hymns,  while  they  pretend  not  to  the  higher  character- 
istics of  poetry,  are  eminent  examples  of  that  mastery 
over  words  which  makes  a  skilful  versifier.  His  famous 
lines  on  the  family  motto,  won  the  warm  eulogium  of 

great  liberties  were  taken  by  the  editor.  The  passage  containing 
Mr.  Littelton's  commendation  is  taken  out  of  one  letter  and  connected 
with  another.  Letters  are  thus  pieced  together.  Many  passages 
are  left  out.  Some  sentences  also  are  introduced  by  the  editor  that 
have  no  existence  in  the  originals. 


128  PUBLIC    CAREER. 

the  old  king  of  critics,  as  one  of  the  finest  epigrams  in 
the  English  tongue.* 

111  philosophizing  on  human  minds  one  can  hardly 
help  throwing  them  into  a  twofold  classification — minds 
in  which  some  one  faculty  stands  out  in  overshadowing 
prominence,  and  minds  distinguished  by  the  harmony 
of  their  powers.  Taylor,  Edwards,  and  Butler,  are  illus- 
trious types  of  the  former  class,  and  Howe  and  Hall  of 
the  latter.  Doddridge  differed  essentially  from  the 
former.  He  had  nothing  like  Taylor's  golden  mouth, 
pouring  forth  ravishing  strains  of  imaginative  eloquence ; 
nor  could  he,  with  the  skill  of  Edwards,  forge  and  tem- 
per logical  weapons,  or  with  his  dexterity  wield  them 
when  prepared;  neither  could  he,  after  Butler's  man- 
ner, sink  a  shaft  into  the  deepest  strata  of  thought,  and 
exhaust  the  spring.  The  cast  of  his  mind  differed  from 
theirs, — differed  in  toto.     But  the  same  cannot  be  said 

*  "  Live  while  yoa  live,  the  epicure  would  say, 
And  seize  the  pleasures  of  the  present  day. 
Live  while  you  live,  the  sacred  preacher  cries, 
And  give  to  God  each  moment  as  it  flies. 
Lord,  in  my  life,  let  both  united  be, 
I  live  in  pleasure,  when  I  live  to  thee  !" 

For  the  following  lines  I  am  indebted  to  my  friend,  Mr.  Charles 
Reed  :— 

"  Written  by  Dr.  Doddridge  when  his  daughter  wounded  her  foot 
by  treading  on  a  thorn. 
Oft  I  have  heard  the  ancient  sages  say, 
The  path  of  virtue  is  a  thorny  way  ! 
If  so,  dear  Caelia,  we  may  know, 
Which  path  it  is  you  tread,  which  way  it  is  you  go." 


THE    AUTHOR.  129 

on  comparing  him  with  Howe  and  Hall.  It  is  well 
known  lie  admired  Howe,  and  Hall  admired  him.  In- 
ferior to  them  in  degree,  he  resembled  them  in  his 
mental  idiosyncracy.  His  mind  was  essentially  of  the 
same  order  Avith  theirs.  No  power  beamed  out  with  an 
eclipsing  brightness,  but  all  shone  in  harmonious  and 
equal  conjunction,  like  the  soft  influences  of  Pleiades, 
those  seven  fair  sisters  of  the  sky. 

Doddridge's  mind  had  not  that  intensity  of  power 
which  becomes  creative,  but  it  had  in  it  that  appetency 
for  knowledge  which  leads  to  the  large  acquisition  of 
mental  wealth.  If  not  born  into  the  aristocracy  of  ge- 
nius, he  brought  into  the  world  endowments  which 
enabled  him  to  become  a  first-rate  capitalist  in  the  com- 
monwealth of  talent.  If  not  to  be  ranked  amidst  the 
coroneted  peers  of  English  science  or  song,  he  attain- 
ed to  a  leadership  among  the  commoners  of  learning 
and  practical  wisdom.  ISor  did  he  hoard  his  treas- 
ures, but  liberally  dispensed  them,  according  to  the 
maxim  of  the  Hebrew  sage?  and  the  strain  of  the  Brit- 
ish bard. 

"  AVisdom  that  is  hid,  and  treasure  that  is  hoarded 
up,  what  profit  is  in  them  both  ?  Better  is  he  that 
hideth  his  folly,  than  he  that  hideth  his  wisdom." 

"  Heaven  does  with  us  as,  we  with  torches  do, — 
Not  light  them  for  themselves,  for  if  our  virtues 
Did  not  go  forth  of  us — 't  were  all  alike 
As  if  we  had  them  not.     Spirits  are  not  finely  touched 
But  for  fine  issues — nor  nature  ever  lends 


130  PUBLIC    CAREER. 

The  smallest  scruple  of  her  excellence, 
But  like  a  thrifty  goddess  she  determines 
Herself  the  glory  of  a  creditor, 
Both  thanks  and  use."* 


THE     MAN      OF     INFLUENCE. 

Great  as  Doddridge's  talents  were,  varied  as  was  his 
learning,  and  eminent  as  was  his  piety,  the  reputation 
in  which  he  was  held  by  contemporaries  seems  rather 
to  exceed  even  the  high  estimate  of  his  excellence  formed 
on  the  study  of  his  life,  his  letters,  and  his  works. 
Fame  presents  a  reflection  of  his  image  still  larger  and 
more  brilliant.  In  an  age  when  compliments  formed 
no  small  part  of  the  staple  of  correspondence,  the  num- 
ber of  persons  who  wrote  to  Doddridge  seemed  to  vie 
with  each  other  in  the  praises  of  his  worth. 

That  such  a  man  would  stand  high  in  his  own  de- 
nomination was  to  be  expected,  and  he  did  so ;  yet, 
even  in  that  quarter,  he  found  envious  detractors  ;f  but 

*  The  two  extracts  are  combined  by  Trench  on  the  Parables. 

t  Mrs.  Doddridge  observes,  in  a  letter  from  Bath,  August  19th, 
1746  : — "  I  hope  my  dear  will  not  suffer  his  mind  to  be  much  ruffled 
by  the  seeming  neglect  of  friends,  or  unjust  calumny  of  enemies  ;  for 
my  part,  whilst  I  am  so  happy  as  to  be  esteemed  and  loved  by  the 
man  whose  regard  is  capable  of  giving  me  the  highest  pleasure  of 
anything  in  the  world,  the  smiles  and  frowns  of  others  sit  lightly  upon 
me."  *  *  * — Unpublished  Correspondence.  "  As  for  the  unmanly 
flirts,  and  ungenerous  reflections  of  those  who  are  not  worthy  to  carry 
your  books  after  you,  it  puts  me  in  mind  of  a  dog  barking  at  the 
moon,  which,  after  all  his  impotency  shines,  and  is  still  very  far  out 
of  his  reach." — Letter  from  the  Rev.  J.  Barker,  Correspondence,  vol. 
v.  p.  19. 


THE    MAN    OF    INFLUENCE.  131 

the  detraction  was  small  compared  with  the  admiration. 
His  writings  were  valued,  his  books  publicly  read,;/f  his 
visits  warmly  welcomed,  his  services  earnestly  sought, 
his  labors  fervently  applauded.  In  his  annual  excur- 
sions he  preached  to  large  and  admiring  assemblies,  and 
was  sometimes  escorted  from  place  to  place  by  two  or 
three  brethren,  with  respect  bordering  on  homage.  He 
was  consulted  on  their  affairs  by  churches  not  only  in 
different  parts  of  this  kingdom,  but  on  the  continent,! 
But  the  honorable  name  of  Doddridge  was  known,  re- 
vered, and  cherished  beyond  the  boundaries  of  the  sect 
to  which  he  belonged.  Clergymen  of  the  Church  of 
England  courted  his  friendship.  The  author  of  the 
"  Divine  Legation  of  Moses,"  at  the  commencement  of 
his  remarkable  correspondence  with  the  Dissenting  di- 
vine, acknowledges  with  gratitude  "  the  honor  of  so  con- 
siderable a  patron."  Referring  to  the  second  volume  of 
the  "  Expositor,"  he  remarks,  "  The  greatest  thing  I  can 

*  With  respect  to  Colonel  Gardiner's  Life,  the  Rev.  R.  Pear-ill, 
of  Taunton,  says,  "  I  gave  notice  that  I  would  read  it  in  public,  and 
did  so  two  evenings  a  week  for  five  weeks,  till  the  whole  was  fin- 
ished."— Doddridge's  Correspondence,  vol.  iv.  p.  57-2. 

+  I  have  obtained,  through  the  kindness  of  my  friend  the  Rev.  B. 
Slight,  entries  from  the  church  books  at  Rotterdam,  relative  to  Dod- 
dridge. He  was  frequently  consulted  by  the  good  people  there.  In 
1748,  this  entry  occurs :  "  For  a  book  as  a  present  to  Dr.  Doddridge, 
80  florins,"  (about  £6  14*.).  M.  Rocquetto  acquainted  the  consistoiy 
that  Dr.  Doddridge,  in  a  letter  to  him,  assured  him  he  had  received 
the  books  they  sent  him.  together  with  their  letter.  At  the  next  va- 
cancy in  the  pastorate  his  opinion  about  a  successor  was  sought :  they 
joined  in  sending  "  a  letter  to  Dr.  Doddridge  at  Lisbon."  At  a  sub- 
sequent meeting  his  death  is  noticed. 


132  PUBLIC    CAREER. 

say  of  it  is,  that  it  is  equal  to  the  first ;  and  the  truest 
thing  I  can  say  of  both,  that  they  surpass  anything  of 
the  kind."  "The  learned  claim  you,"  cries  the  great 
Churchman,  while  good-humoredly  chiding  him  for  his 
praise  of  Hervey.  Bishops,  and  other  dignitaries,  besides 
some  of  the  nobility,  are  numbered  among  his  familiar 
correspondents,  and  persons  of  noble  name  were  his  most 
intimate  friends.  On  a  visit  to  Cambridge  he  received 
marks  of  attention  extremely  flattering,*  while  his  lite- 
rary reputation  travelled  over  Europe,  and  brought  him 
home  assurances  of  great  esteem.f 

Kippis  intimates  that  he  was  elated  by  the  eminence 
to  which  he  rose.  It  is  also  said  he  was  not  insensible 
to  the  incense  of  flattery  ;  and  Barker,  in  a  clever  letter, 

"*  "  Dr.  Doddridge  spent  a  couple  of  days  here  last  week.  I  showed 
him  all  the  civility  I  could ;  at  first,  indeed,  merely  as  a  friend  of 
yours,  but  it  soon  became  the  result  of  my  own  inclination.  He  fa- 
vored me  with  much  curious  conversation,  and  if  I  judge  right,  is  a 
man  of  great  parts  and  learning,  and  of  a  candid  and  communicative 
temper.  I  now  reckon  him  amongst  my  acquaintance,  and  thank  you 
for  him." — Mr.  Caryl  to  Dr.  Warburton. — Dr.  Doddridge  says  to 
Mrs.  Doddridge,  "  Dr.  Middleton  showed  me  several  very  fine  curi- 
osities ;  and  I,  on  the  other  hand,  had  the  pleasure  of  informing  hini 
of  several  very  curious  and  valuable  MSS.  in  the  library  of  which  he 
had  the  charge  ;  of  which  neither  the  Doctor  himself,  nor  any  of  the 
gentlemen  of  the  university  that  I  saw,  had  ever  so  much  as  heard, 
though  they  are  the  oldest  monuments  relating  to  the  churches  of 
Italy." 

t  All  this  involved  a  large  correspondence  :  "  I  marshalled  my  un- 
answered letters,  and  found  them  one  hundred  and  six,  near  one  quar- 
ter of  which  reached  me  since  Friday  noon  (and  it  was  then  Monday 
evening),  and  all  this  though  I  have  written  between  fifty  and  sixt}' 
letters  the  last  fourteen  days,  with  my  own  hand,  having  no  secre- 
tary." 


THE    MAX    OF    INFLUENCE.  133 

hits  at  what  he  deemed  his  errors ;  all  of  which,  how- 
ever, as  he  enumerates  them,  certainly  leaned  on  virtue's 
side.  "  Are  you  aware  what  a  creature  you  are  ?  I  love 
you  beyond  expression,  and  admire  your  abilities,  furni- 
ture, and  spirits,  more  than  you  imagine,  and  not  a  man 
in  the  world  rejoices  more  in  your  usefulness  than  I  do; 
and  yet  I  often  make  myself  merry  with  your  character 
and  conduct.  I  will  give  you  a  sketch  of  it.  You  are 
so  entirely  devoted  to  God,  to  truth,  and  holiness,  that  it 
is  very  easy  to  impose  upon  you,  under  the  appearance 
of  any  of  these,  and  are  so  perfectly  made  up  of  candor 
and  good  nature,  that  a  pious  enthusiast  or  a  godly  dunce 
is  welcome  to  your  table  and  heart*  You  are  so  good 
yourself  that  you  think  everybody  else  ten  times  better 
than  they  are,  see  merit  in  the  darkness  of  midnight, 
cannot  see  faults  without  a  noon-day  sun,  forgive  injuries 
before  they  are  confessed,  confer  favors  as  a  reward  for 
affronts,  and  will  never  believe  but  that  all  who  are  in 
good  earnest  in  religion,  and  enter  into  the  belief,  prac- 
tice, lite,  ami  spirit  of  it,  are  to  be  embraced  by  you.  be- 
cause Christ  receives  them,  let  their  opinions  or  de- 
nominations be  what  they  will.  You — but  I  will  not 
oblige  you  any  further  now,  but  thank  you  for  that  ser- 
mon on  candor,  which  is  the  very  picture  of  your  mind, 

*  Such  a  man  was  likely  to  be  imposed  upon.  "Indeed,"  he  says, 
when  smarting  under  one  of  the  frauds  to  which  he  was  subject,  •'•  I 
have  been  so  often  imposed  upon,  that  I  am  the  less  excusable  in  this 
instance,  and  have  very  little  but  the  goodness  of  my  intention  to  plead 
in  my  behalf.'' — Correspondence,  vol.  v.  p.  109. 

M 


134  PUBLIC    CAREER. 

and  highly  relished  by  your  faithful  and  affectionate 
brother  Barker."* 

But  Doddridge  never  availed  himself  of  his  reputation, 
or  exerted  his  influence,  for  any  sordid  or  selfish  ends, 
but  from  first  to  last  employed  the  whole  in  the  cause 
of  humanity,  and  the  service  of  his  adorable  Redeemer. 
He  once,  by  employing  his  influence  with  the  great, 
saved  a  deserter  from  being  shot.  Another  time  he 
labored  for  the  deliverance  of  an  Irishman  condemned 
to  be  hanged  in  Northampton,  and  so  attached  to  him 
the  unhappy  creature,  that  the  latter  on  his  road  to  the 
gallows  paused,  by  permission,  at  the  Doctor's  door,  and 
knelt  down  to  pray  with  tearful  earnestness  for  his  piti- 
ful benefactor.f  He  helped  others  in  schemes  of  useful- 
ness, and  tried  to  set  on  foot  schemes  of  his  own.     He 

*  The  Rev.  John  Barker,  one  of  the  most  eloquent  preachers  of  that 
day.  was  a  very  intimate  friend  of  Doddridge.  He  was  pastor  of  the 
church  at  Hackney  ;  but  in  1741  became  minister  at  Salters'  Hall. 
Here  Doddridge  was  invited  to  join  him.  Mrs.  Doddridge  thus 
writes  in  a  letter  dated  June,  1741  : — "  I  am  concerned  to  hear  of  good 
Mr.  Narnan's  death  ;  I  allow  the  temptation  is  very  strong,  and  I  think 
if  you  can  withstand  it,  as  I  believe  you  will,  it  is  one  of  the  greatest 
proofs  of  your  affection  for  Northampton  that  you  may  perhaps  ever 
have  it  in  your  power  to  give  ;  as  I  believe  there  is  hardly  a  person 
in  the  world  that  you  would  think  yourself  so  happy  in  joining  with 
as  good  Mr.  Barker.'* — Unpublished  Correspondence. 

t  It  may  here  be  noticed  that  at  the  time  of  the  rebellion  in  support 
of  the  Pretender,  Dr.  Doddridge  encouraged  persons  in  his  congrega- 
tion to  enlist  in  the  royal  army,  under  the  Earl  of  Halifax,  who  raised 
a  regiment  at  Northampton.  One  of  the  Doctor's  pupils,  a  son  of 
Lord  Kilkerran,  volunteered  his  services,  and  carried  the  colors  under 
the  patriot  Earl.  Doddridge  printed,  at  his  own  expense,  a  friendly 
letter  to  the  soldiers. 


THE    MAN    OF    INFLUENCE.  135 

advised  Wcaley,  in  a  long  letter,  what  books  it  was  de- 
sirable preachers  should  read  ;  and  Mr.  Benjamin  For- 
fitt,  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Society  for  Promoting 
Religious  Knowledge  among  the  Poor,  by  distributing 
Bibles,  Testaments,  and  other  books,  says,  in  a  letter  to 
him,  "  I  do  not  know,  dear  sir,  whether  justice  does  not 
oblige  me  to  inform  you  that  if  the  world  receives  any 
advantage  from  this  design,  it  is  indebted  to  Dr.  Dod- 
dridge for  it."  In  1741,  he  devised  an  extensive  plan 
for  the  advancement  of  the  gospel  at  home  and  abroad.* 
It  was  a  missionary  association,  the  first  of  the  kind  we 
ever  read  of.  Cromwell  resolved  to  set  up  a  council  for 
promoting  the  Protestant  religion  throughout  the  world. 
Richard  Baxter  advocated  the  erection  of  a  college  to 
teach  students  the  languages  of  the  heathen,  with  a  view 
to  qualify  them  for  missionary  labors.  Robert  Boyle 
supported  and  encouraged  John  Elliot,  the  apostle  to  the 
Indians.     Societies  were  formed  in  England,  Scotland, 

*  The  details  are  given  in  the  dedication  of  the  sermon  on  "  The 
Evil  and  Danger  of  Neglecting  the  Souls  of  Men.''  The  dedication 
of  this  very  solemn  discourse,  worthy  of  being  read  in  connection 
with  Baxter's  •'  Reformed  Pastor,'"  is  addressed  to  the  ministers  in 
Norfolk  and  Suffolk,  particularly  those  with  whom  the  author  had  an 
interview  at  Denton.  June  30,  1741.  One  who  was  present  on  that 
occasion  says,  "  He  entertained  us  with  an  excellent  discourse,  from 
2  Peter  v.  6.  A  remarkable  day  indeed,  when  the  presence  of  God 
filled  our  assembly;  and  not  myself  only,  but  many  others  have  with 
pleasure  owned  it  was  one  of  the  best  days  of  our  lives.  Though  the 
season  was  hot.  the  auditory  very  much  crowded,  and  between  four 
and  five  hours  spent  in  the  public  worship,  none  thought  the  hours 
tedious,  and  wished  for  a  dismission." — Funeral  Sermon  on  the 
Death  of  Dr.  Doddridge,  preached  at  Yarmouth,  by  Richard  Fro.<t. 


136  PUBLIC    CAREER. 

and  Denmark,  to  promote  the  preaching  of  Christianity 
in  other  lands,  and  the  Moravians  were  heroic  laborers 
in  the  field  ;  but  Doddridge  seems  to  have  led  the  way 
in  establishing  what  may  be  termed  an  Auxiliary  Con- 
gregational Association  in  Aid  of  Missions.  This  was 
his  project : — "  That  pious  people  unite  as  members  of  a 
society  ;  that  they  daily  offer  up  some  earnest  prayers 
for  the  propagation  of  the  gospel  in  the  world,  especially 
among  the  heathen  nations  ;  that  they  attend  four  times 
a  year  for  solemn  prayer  ;  that  some  time  be  then  spent 
in  reviewing  the  promises  relating  to  the  establishment 
of  the  Redeemer's  kingdom  in  the  world  ;  that  any  im- 
portant information  of  the  progress  of  the  gospel  from 
foreign  lands  be  communicated  at  these  quarterly  meet- 
ings ;  that  each  member  contribute  something  towards 
supporting  the  expense  of  sending  missionaries  abroad, 
printing  Bibles,  and  other  useful  books  in  foreign  lan- 
guages ;  establishing  schools  for  the  instruction  of  the 
ignorant,  and  the  like." 

Still  nobler  purposes  swelled  out  as  life  was  ebbing,* 

*  The  following  passage  from  a  letter  by  Mrs.  Doddridge  to  Job 
Orton,  in  1764,  will  be  read  with  interest:—-'  I  send  you  all  the  pa- 
pers of  the  dear  deceased,  with  a  view  to  your  drawing  up  of  the 
Memoirs  of  this  important,  and  to  me,  when  I  consider  it  in  all  its 
parts,  surprising  life  ;  of  the  vast  extent  and  importance  of  which,  I 
confess  that,  notwithstanding  my  intimate  knowledge,  I  was  not  so 
fully  aware  as  afterwards,  by  going  over  all  his  papers,  which  pre- 
sented it  to  me  in  an  united  point  of  view  ;  though  then,  as  well  us 
in  the  slight  review  I  have  now  been  taking,  in  order  to  dispose  them 
in  some  little  order,  that  scripture  was  with  sad  propriety  continually 
occurring  to  my  mind,  as  I  doubt  not  it  will  to  yours,  '  My  purposes 
are  broken  oft'.'  " — Unpublished  Correspondence. 


THE    MAN    OF    INFLUENCE.  137 

and  this  hard- worked  saint  exclaimed  as  he  was  Hear- 
ing heaven,  u  I  am  now  intent  upon  having  something 
done  among  the  Dissenters,  in  a  more  public  manner, 
for  propagating  the  gospel  abroad,  which  lies  near  my 
heart.  I  wish  to  live  to  see  this  design  brought  into 
execution,  at  least  into  some  forwardness,  and  then  I 
should  die  the  more  cheerfully."  It  was  indeed  the 
passion  of  his  life  to  promote  the  interests  of  evangelical 
truth,  and  save  the  souls  of  men.  And  though  con- 
demned by  some,  and  suspected  by  others,  for  so  doing, 
he  took  a  deep  and  sympathetic  interest  in  the  evangel- 
ical labors  of  Whitfield.  It  seems  strange  in  our  day 
to  think  of  Whitfield  being  regarded  as  an  enthusiast 

©  © 

by  orthodox  Dissenters.  Yet  such  was  the  case.  Brad- 
bury poured  on  him  streams  of  wit.*  Barker  looked 
on  his  sermons  as  low  and  coarse  ;  and  one  brother, 
writing  up  from  the  country,  calls  him  "  honest,  crazy, 
confident   Mr.   Whitfield."      But   Doddridge   regarded 

©  © 

him  otherwise,!  and  in  this  respect  seems  to  have  stood 
almost  alone  among  the  leading  Nonconformist  minis- 
ters. He  prayed  at  the  Tabernacle,  at  which  good  Dr. 
Watts  was  much  concerned;  and  when  Whitfield  vis- 
ited Northampton,  Doddridge  gave  him  the  use  of  his 
pulpit,  in  consequence  of  which  he  had  a  very  formal 

*  A  curious  correspondence  between  Bradbury  and  Whitfield 
arose  out  of  a  letter  written  by  the  latter  to  the  former  on  bis  attend- 
ing a  public  dinner.  There  is  a  copy  of  the  correspondence  among 
the  Wilson  MSS.,  Dr.  Williams's  Library. 

t  He  speaks  of  him  as  "  a  flaming  servant  of  Christ." 


138  PUBLIC    CAREER. 

and  solemn,  yet  withal  discreet  and  cautious,  expostula- 
tion from  Mr.  Coward's  trustees.* 

*  Doddridge  replied — "  I  shall  always  be  ready  to  weigh  what- 
ever can  be  said  against.  Mr.  Whitfield  as  well  as  against  any  of  the 
rest ;  and  though  I  must  have  actual  demonstration  before  I  can  ad- 
mit him  to  be  a  dishonest  man,  and  though  I  shall  never  be  able  to 
think  all  he  has  written,  and  all  I  have  heard  from  him,  nonsense,  yet 
I  am  not  so  zealously  attached  to  him,  as  to  be  disposed  to  celebrate 
him  as  one  of  the  greatest  men  of  the  age,  or  to  think  that  he  is  the 
pillar  that  bears  up  the  whole  interests  of  religion  among  us." — Corres- 
pondence, vol.  iv.  p.  292. 


CHAPTER  17. 

HIS     SOCIAL    RETIREMENT. 

We  have  seen  what  Doddridge  did — we  shall  now 
see  more  fully  what  he  was. 

If  ever  there  existed  a  heart  fit  for  love  to  nestle  in, 
'twas  his.  He  was  sensitive,  yet  unsuspicious,  candid, 
and  tenderly  kind,  easy  of  access,  and  full  of  sympathy  ; 
abounding,  also,  in  courtesy,  which  he  felicitously  terms 
the  "  outguard  of  humanity  and  friendship."  His  amia- 
bleness  sometimes  placed  him  in  a  false  position ;  and 
even  from  a  wish  to  live  in  peace  with  all,  he  occasion- 
ally involved  himself  in  misunderstandings  with  some. 
Extremes  meet,  and  Doddridge,  in  trying  to  be  in  every 
instance  candid,  was  suspected  of  being,  in  certain  instan- 
ces, insincere.  With  great  talents  for  conversation,  4,his 
discourse  not  unfrequently  rising  to  the  splendid,"  and 
with  a  love  of  letter-writing  which  could  not  be  checked 
by  his  numerous  official  engagements,  his  company  was 
courted,  and  his  correspondence  sought,  among  the 
richest  social  privileges.  With  no  mean  pretence,  no 
vain  parade,  but  from  the  abundance  of  his  heart,  he 


140  HIS    SOCIAL    RETIREMENT. 

declares,  "  The  chief  thing  I  value,  next  to  the  enjoy- 
ment and  service  of  God,  is  the  love  and  converse  of 
my  dear  friends."  As  a  pictorial  comment  on  this  beau- 
tiful confession,  one  likes  to  follow  him  along  that  pleas- 
ant road  from  Northampton,  to  the  parsonage-house  at 
Weston  favel,  with  its  brown  stone  halls,  bay  windows, 
and  terraced  garden, — to  hear  him  there  talking,  with 
the  freedom  of  an  unbosomed  friendship,  with  the  kin- 
dred-hearted Hervey,  perhaps  wandering  with  him 
u  among  the  tombs,"  or  looking  up  with  him  at  "  the 
starry  heavens."  And  then  we  approach  the  stately 
halls,  as  hospitable  as  they  are  romantic,  of  Ashby-de- 
la-Zouch,  and  see  Doddridge,  with  the  dignity  of  a  gen- 
tleman, and  the  earnestness  of  a  Christian,  conversing  on 
the  most  important  of  all  themes  with  the  good  Coun- 
tess of  Huntingdon,  and  the  rest  of  the  pious  circle  she 
has  gathered  round  her  noble  hearth  to  meet  the  Doc- 
tor ;  or  we  accompany  him  to  her  Ladyship's  town  resi- 
dence, where  he  preaches  in  the  drawing-room,  and  the 
ladies  entertain  him  with  their  voices  and  the  harpsi- 
chord after  dinner  ;  and  he  hears  of  the  blessing  that 
has  attended  his  books  to  people  of  "  rank  and  figure," 
and  the  noble  hostess  tells  him  especially  of  one  Mr. 
Knight,  who  has  been  converted  by  reading  "  Colonel 
Gardiner's  Life."  Next  we  travel  with  him  down  to 
Croydon,  where  Gilbert  West  meets  him  with  his  char- 
iot, and  carries  him  to  his  classic  seat  at  Wickham, — 
redolent  of  the  memory  of  Pitt  and  Lyttellon, — and 


HIS    SOCIAL    RETIREMENT.  141 

there  the  learned  visitor  and  host  spend  their  time  chiefly 
in  religious  and  philosophical  discourse,  in  one  or  other 
of  the  elegant  retreats  in  the  garden;  the  result  of 
which  is,  that  their  hearts  are  "  very  much  twisted  to- 
gether, and  they  are  truly  sorry  to  part.*'  During  his 
London  visits,  he  makes  "  multitudes  of  new  and  very 
obliging  friends,"  so  that  he  is  "  almost  lost  in  the  crowd 
of  them  :"'  he  is  "  feasted  and  regaled  like  a  prince, 
from  day  to  day,''  by  people  who  quarrel  for  his  com- 
pany. Now  he  spends  some  hours  with  Sir  Harry 
HouQ-hton,  who  takes  him  in  his  chariot  to  see  "  a 
mathematical  curiosity."  and  from  thence  to  the  Parlia- 
ment House.  Next  he  goes  to  Mr.  Halford's,  with 
whom,  sitting  out  the  fire,  he  chats  till  two  or  three 
o'clock  in  the  morning ;  and  another  time  we  find  him 
holding  earnest  conversation  in  Latin  with  four  German 
divines,  two  of  whom  are  devoted  missionaries,  and  by 
their  simple  tales  of  holy  love  and  labor,  they  win  and 
carry  home  the  heart  of  this  devoted  man.  Not  less 
pleasant  is  it  to  watch  him  expressing  welcome  and 
affording  hospitality  to  guests  at  his  own  abode — hail- 
ing, for  example,  the  rival  of  the  brave  and  somewhat 
stern,  yet  love-fraught  Gardiner,  when  he  visits  North- 
ampton, and  to  listen  to  the  experimental  conversation 
between  the  Scotch  colonel  in  his  quaint  northern  dia- 
lect, and  the  English  divine,  who  gives  a  rather  vehe- 
ment  utterance   to   the   softer   speech   of  the   south.* 

*  I  cannot  resist  the  temptation  to  insert  here  the  following-  graphic 


142  HIS    SOCIAL    RETIREMENT. 

Perhaps  the  most  remarkable  of  all  is  the  friendship 
between  Warburton  and  Doddridge.  The  man  who  in 
his  books  appears  the  proud  Churchman,  the  intolerant 

sketch  of  the  Colonel : — "  Amongst  the  visitors  at  their  father's  house, 
at  first  to  the  children  more  formidable  than  the  Doctor  (Dr.  Ston- 
house)  and,  by  and  by,  the  most  revered  of  all,  was  a  Scotch  cavalry 
officer.  With  his  Hessian  boots,  and  their  tremendous  spurs,  sus- 
taining the  grandeur  of  his  scarlet  coat  and  powdered  queue,  there 
was  something  to  youthful  imagination  very  awful  in  the  tall  and 
stately  hussar;  and  that  awe  was  nowise  abated  when  they  got  cour- 
age to  look  on  his  high  forehead,  with  overhung  gray  eyes,  and 
weather-beaten  cheeks,  and  when  they  marked  his  fine  and  dauntless 
air.  And  then  it  was  terrible  to  think  how  many  battles  he  had 
fought,  and  how  in  one  of  them  a  bullet  had  gone  quite  through  his 
neck,  and  he  had  lain  a  whole  night  among  the  slain.  But  there  was 
a  deeper  mystery  still.  He  had  been  a  very  bad  man  once,  it  would 
appear,  and  now  he  was  very  good  ;  and  he  had  seen  a  vision  ;  and 
altogether,  with  his  strong  Scotch  voice,  and  his  sword,  and  his  won- 
derful story,  the  most  solemn  visitant  was  this  grave  and  lofty  sol- 
dier. But  they  saw  how  their  father  loved  him,  and  how  he  loved 
their  father.  As  he  sat  so  erect  in  the  square  corner  seat  of  the 
chapel,  they  could  notice  how  his  stern  look  would  soften,  and  how 
his  firm  lip  would  quiver,  and  how  a  happy  tear  would  roll  down  his 
deep-lined  face  ;  and  they  heard  him,  as  he  sung  so  joyfully  the  clos- 
ing hymn,  and  they  came  to  feel  that  the  Colonel  must  indeed  be  very 
good.  At  last,  after  a  long  absence,  he  came  to  see  their  father,  and 
stayed  three  days,  and  he  was  looking  very  sick  and  very  old  ;  and 
the  last  night,  before  he  went  away,  their  father  preached  a  sermon 
in  the  house,  and  his  text  was,  '  I  will  be  with  him  in  trouble ;  I 
will  deliver  him,  and  honor  him.'  And  the  Colonel  went  away,  and 
their  father  went  with  him,  and  gave  him  a  long  convoy  ;  and  many 
letters  went  and  came.  But  at  last  there  was  war  in  Scotland. 
There  was  a  rebellion,  and  there  were  battles.  And  then  the  gloomy 
news  arrived, — there  had  been  a  battle  close  to  the  very  house  of 
Bankton,  and  the  king's  soldiers  had  run  away,  and  the  brave  Colo- 
nel Gardiner  would  not  run,  but  fought  to  the  very  last;  and— alas 
for  the  Lady  Francis ! — he  was  stricken  down  and  slain  scarce  a 
mile   from  his  own  mansion   door." — North  British  Review,   No. 


HIS    SOCIAL    RETIREMENT.  143 

and  paradoxical  dogmatist,  the  pedantic  scholar,  the 
theological  aeronaut,  the  logical  gladiator,  the  man  of 
clever  tricks  and  daring  feats,  the  intellectual  marvel  of 
his  own  age  and  of  ours,  assumes  a  perfectly  different 
aspect,  and  becomes  truly  lovable,  at  the  fireside  of  our 
Nonconformist  tutor.  Down  he  comes  in  his  carriage 
to  Kettering,  on  the  25th  of  May,  at  noon,  when  he 
sends  back  his  horses,  and  then  moves  on  to  Northamp- 
ton in  the  less  commodious  conveyance  of  the  Doctor's 
"chair,"  sent  in  due  time  to  meet  him.  With  all  his 
heart  he  writes  to  his  Dissenting  host  three  days  after- 
wards :  "  I  have  abundance  of  thanks  to  return  for  the 
very  friendly  entertainment  I  met  with  at  Northampton 
from  you  and  your  excellent  lady.  I  must  tell  you 
frankly,  you  have  more  happiness  than  comes  to  the 
share  of  one  man,  and  to  make  it  the  more  exquisite,  of 
several  kinds.  Providence  has  treated  you  with  a  feast 
of  many  courses,  which  none  but  a  good  Levite  under 
the  old  law,  where  the  dispensation  was  exact,  could 
fairly  pretend  to.  That  you  may  long  enjoy  every  part 
of  it,  especially  '  that  last  and  best,  which  shares  and 
doubles  all  the  rest,'  is  the  earnest  prayer  of,  dear  sir, 
your  most  affectionate  friend  and  brother,  W.  AVarbur- 
ton."*  Great  as  was  Doddridge's  learninp;,  and  strong 
as  was  his  mind,  no  doubt  his  private   social  manners 

*  Several  very  interesting  letters  of  Warburton  to  Doddridge  occur 
in  the  published  Correspondence.  One  of  them  is  quoted  in  Hurd's 
"  Life  of  Warburton  ;"  but  the  Bishop  omits  to  mention  the  name  of 
the  Dissenting-  divine  to  whom  it  was  addressed. 


144  HIS    SOCIAL    RETIREMENT. 

exerted  a  more  potent  influence  still  over  the  giant-like 
theologian  and  critic,  touching  him  with  a  resistless 
spell,  and  lulling  asleep  the  turbulent  passions  of  his 
heart.  Doddridge's  spirit  seems  to  have  been  to  him 
almost  like  the  gentle  Una  leading  the  lion,  in  that 
most  beautiful  of  Spenser's  fairy  and  queenly  dreams. 

"While  caressed  by  bishops  and  dignitaries  of  the 
Establishment,  as  well  as  by  others  of  noble  rank,  his 
preference  for  Nonconformity  was  decided  and  firm ; 
and,  except  in  cases  where  their  bigotry  or  jealousy 
alienated  from  him  members  of  his  own  denomination, 
he  felt  himself  most  at  home  with  his  brethren.  His 
most  intimate  and  confidential  friendships  were  with 
these.  He  loved  to  take  St.  Alban's  on  his  way  to 
London,  and  then  turn  aside  and  tarry  for  a  night  with 
good  Dr.  Clarke,  his  early  friend  and  patron.  Arrived 
in  London,  he  takes  up  his  head-quarters  in  Moorfields 
with  Mr.  Cruttruden,  a  substantial  Nonconformist  lay- 
man ;  dating  his  letters  thence  as  from  "  the  castle  of 
friendship  ;" — or  he  tarries  with  the  well-known  family 
of  the  Snells,  at  Walthamstow ; — or  with  good  Mr.  Bar- 
ker, whom  he  so  tenderly  regards ;  "  who  prays  as 
nobody  else  can  pray ;"  who,  amidst  pecuniary  losses, 
"  increases  the  lustre  of  his  character  by  a  charming 
mixture  of  fortitude,  submission,  tenderness,  compassion, 
and  cheerfulness,"  and  is  altogether  "  such  a  Christian 
and  such  a  friend  as  is  very,  very  seldom  to  be  found  or 
heard  of."     And  then  he  goes  a  round  of  visits  among 


HIS    SOCIAL    RETIREMENT.  145 

old  Dissenting  connections, — spending  a  day  with  Mr. 
Xeale,  from  whom  lie  receives  counsel  and  advice  re- 
specting temporal  affairs;  or  dining  with  Mr.  Xewman, 
drinking  tea  with  Mr.  Bradbury,  and  enjoying  an  even- 
ing with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Godwin — the  good  lady,  in  her 
great  complaisance,  lighting  up  "  six  wax  tapers  to  re- 
ceive him,  because  she  knows  he  likes  a  light  room." 
Most  of  the  distinQTiished  names  anions  the  London 
Dissenters  of  that  period  appear  in  Doddridge's  Corres- 
pondence in  the  number  of  his  friends,  but  one  espe- 
cially is  named  with  honor.  Here  lies  a  letter  dated 
"  from  dear  Dr.  "YVatts's  study."  He  comes  with  Lady 
Abney  to  meet  his  friend,  and  they  return  together,  in 
her  Ladyship's  coach,  to  Newington. — But  now  "the 
poet  of  the  sanctuary"  is  growing  too  old  and  infirm  to 
show  this  kind  of  attention  any  longer,  so  Doddridge 
takes  coach  to  Xewington,  where  he  finds  Dr.  "Watts 
"  much  enfeebled  by  his  late  fever,  yet  very  conversable, 
and  better  far  than  might  be  expected."  "  Miss  Abney 
is  grown  finely  tall,  and  my  lady  not  older  than  last 
year."  Another  time,  a  pleasant  day  is  spent,  much 
the  pleasanter  for  seeing  Dr.  Watts,  and  other  friends 
in  the  same  place,  "  particularly  Lady  Abney's  family 
in  such  comfortable  circumstances."  There  are  pleasant 
walks  in  the  garden,  and  cheerful  talking  in  the  parlor  ; 
Mre.  Cooke  entering  her  protest  "against  ministers' 
wives  wearing  curled  hair  and  large  hoops."* 

*  These  illustrations  are  gathered  from  original  letters,  now  lying 

N 


146  HIS    SOCIAL    RETIREMENT. 

The  last  interview  between  Doddridge  and  Watts  oc- 
curred not  long  before  the  death  of  the  latter.  The 
Kev.  Samuel  Lavington,  of  Bideford, — a  man  of  conge- 
nial spirit,  and  one  who  ever  venerated  the  memory  of 
both, — happened  to  be  present,  in  the  freshness  of  his 
youth,  listening  with  intense  delight  to  the  interesting 
colloquy  of  men  so  famous  in  Israel, — and  he  was  wont 
to  relate,  in  advanced  life,  when  talking  of  the  days  of 
"  auld  lang  syne,"  the  story  of  this  parting  scene.  They 
supped  at  Mrs.  iibney's  house,  at  Stoke  Newington,  in 
company  with  Dr.  Gibbons.  Much  cheerful  conversation 
passed  between  them ;  and  the  poet  pleasantly  related  to 
the  company  how  he  had  been  imposed  upon  by  certain 
persons  who  had  tasted  of  his  bounty,  and  how,  after  the 
death  of  some  of  his  pensioners,  the  relatives  actually 
continued,  in  the  name  of  the  deceased,  as  if  they  had 
been  living,  to  claim  and  receive  his  accustomed  gratui- 
ties. The  narrative,  one  would  imagine,  did  not  fail  to 
divert  the  amiable  Doddridge,  who  had  himself  so  often, 
in  various  ways,  been  victimized  by  designing  knaves  ; 
and  if  he  did  not,  on  the  occasion,  crown  the  stories  of 
his  friend  with  similar  ones  relating  to  himself,  we  could 
almost  answer  for  it,  that  this  was  not  because  he  was 
unable.  Supper  over,  the  venerable  bard,  oppressed  by 
his  infirmities,  rose  from  his  chair  to  retire  to  his  cham- 
ber, when  Doddridge  rose  and  followed  him  to  the  door, 

before  me,  several  of  which  are  omitted  in  the  volumes  published  by 
Mr.  Humphreys. 


HIS    SOCIAL    RETIREMENT.  14/ 

in  an  attitude  expressive  of  ardent  attachment  and 
veneration,  stretching  out  his  arms  as  if,  (to  use  Mr, 
Lavingtons  language — who,  when  he  told  the  story, 
suited  the  action  to  the  words)  Elisha  was  endeavoring 
to  catch  the  mantle  of  the  ascending  prophet.*  The 
elder  saint  soon  after  that  went  up  to  heaven,  and  the 
younger  followed  after  a  very  little  while  :  Watts  died 
in  1748  ;  Doddridge  in  1751. 

From  the  varied  society  of  all  these  London  fi ' 
Doddridge  carried  home  many  a  balmy  reminiscence  to 
refresh  him  in  many  winter  hours,  till  the  sumn: 
grimage  of  friendship  came  round  again. 

Extending  his  journey  into  the  eastern  counties.  h< 
lighted  in  visiting,  among  others,  the  worthy  Mr.  Sc  't. 

Id  Meeting  at  Norwich,  in  whose  h< 
describes  himself  as  attaining  "  the  zenith  of  hap| ' 
the  high  noon  of  joy.'' 

In  one  of  these  visits,  when  Mr.  Scott  had  grow 
and  infirm,  Doddridge  took  the  pastors  place,  in  the 
pastor's  presence,  at  the  Lord's  table,  and  admin:- 
in  his  own  solemn  and  touching  manner,  that  bl 

*  This  interesting  fact  was  communicated  to  me  by  my  friend  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Rooker,  late  of  Tavistock,  now  of  Plymouth.  He  also 
mentions,  that  it  was  related  by  a  friend  who  knew  the  Abuey  family, 
that  Dr.  Watts  was  so  beloved  by  the  domestics,  that  they  would  put 
themselves  in  the  way  to  receive  from  him  signs  of  kindness,  or  marks 
of  approbation.  In  the  family  of  Mr.  J.  Rooker.  of  Bidefurd.  is  a  MS. 
volume  of  seventy  hymns  by  Doddridge.  All  are  included  in  Orton's 
edition,  with  the  exception  of  six  or  eight,  of  which  three  or  four  ap- 
peared, some  years  since,  in  the  Congregational  Magazine. 


148  HIS    SOCIAL    RETIREMENT. 

sacrament  of  love  which  makes  all  Christian  hearts  feel 
their  everlasting  oneness  in  Christ.  And  very  beautiful 
is  it,  as  we  picture  the  scene  in  that  venerable  and  anti- 
quated house  of  prayer,  with  its  huge  pillars, — dark 
oaken  pulpit  and  pews, — and  mural  tablets  and  hatch- 
ments, to  meet  with  the  little  incident  recorded  by  Har- 
mer  ;  that  the  learned  pastor  pleaded  as  a  precedent  in 
favor  of  his  devolving  such  a  duty  upon  another,  the 
case  of  Polycarp,  who  did  the  like  at  Rome,  at  the  re- 
quest of  the  Bishop  Anicetus — "  a  graceful  management 
of  antiquity,"  as  Harmer  says, — an  agreeable  correspon- 
dence in  modern  practice.*  How  Doddridge's  love  for 
Mr.  Scott  and  his  family  was  reciprocated  by  them,  is 
seen  from  the  following  extract  of  an  unpublished  letter, 
written  by  Miss  Scott,  in  1746  : — 

"  We  regard  you,  we  will  not  say  as  the  chief  orna- 
ment and  support  of  the  Dissenting  interest,  but  of  vital, 
powerful  Christianity  in  a  degenerate  land.  How  indul- 
gent has  Providence  been  to  spare  you !  I  and  my  dear 
father  have  been  joining  in  our  most  affectionate  thanks 
to  Heaven,  and  we  now  join  in  our  most  earnest  entrea- 
ties to  yourself,  to  do  all  that  in  you  lies  for  the  preser- 
vation of  so  important  (oh  !  how  important !)  a  life  of 
future  years  of  usefulness."! 

Taking  a  summer  tour  through  the  midland  counties, 

*  Harmer's  Miscellaneous  Works,  p.  183. 

t  There  are  in  the  published  Correspondence  some  beautiful  letters 
to  Miss  Scott,  when  she  was  in  deep  spiritual  depression. 


HIS    SOCIAL    RETIREMENT.  149 

down  into  Somersetshire,  his  letters  disclose  many  a 
touching  incident ;  and  to  take  one  out  of  several,  we 
find  a  notice  of  his  welcome  from  Fawcett  and  Darracott, 
cordial  in  both  cases, — rapturous  in  the  latter  ;  the  sera- 
phic-hearted apostle  of  the  west  bursting  into  tears,  ••  as 
if  about  to  lose  his  father,"  when  Doddridge  seemed  as 
if  he  would  accept  the  invitation  of  old  Mr.  Marshall, 
who  struggled  to  be  first  to  say,  "  Dear  Doctor,  make  my 
house  your  home."  And  then,  to  the  Northamptonshire 
brethren,  how  strong  and  tender  was  his  attachment ! 
"  Long,"  said  he  to  them,  '•  have  we  beheld,  and,  blessed 
be  God,  long  have  we  felt,  how  good  and  how  pleasant 
a  thing  it  is  for  brethren  to  dwell  together  in  unity. 
Long  has  the  odor  of  this  precious  ointment  filled  our 
little  tabernacles  with  its  perfume."  Some  of  Harborough, 
and  Nbrris  of  Welford,  were  cherished  names  in  the  long 
list  of  his  endeared  companions  and  fellow-laborers  in 
the  kingdom  and  patience  of  Jesus  Christ. 

With  affection  most  intense  did  he  love  his  own 
domestic  circle.  With  a  fondness  almost  excessive  did 
he  dote  on  his  dear  wife,  Mercy, — writing  to  her  when 
from  home,  after  long  years  had  matured  their  union, 
with  all  the  flush  and  fervor  of  a  first  attachment.  To 
his  daughter,  during  a  visit  at  AValthamstow,  he  says, 
"Indeed  you  are  so  dear  to  me,  that  everything  which 
looks  like  danger  to  you,  afflicts  me  sensibly  in  its  most 
distant  approach.  It  has  pleased  God  so  to  form  my 
heart,  that  I  question  whether  any  man  living  feels  more 


150  HIS    SOCIAL    RETIREMENT. 

exquisitely  on  such  occasions.  The  life  of  either  of  my 
children,  and  of  such  a  child,  is  more  to  me  than  the 
treasures  of  a  kingdom  ;  and  there  is  hardly  anything  in 
which  your  excellent  mamma  is  not  immediately  con- 
cerned, which  I  so  much  desire,  as  that  you  may  all  live 
to  bless  the  world  many  years  after  I  have  left  it."  And 
never  was  there  paid  a  tribute  of  paternal  love,  blended 
with  submissive  piety,  more  exquisitely  tender  and 
manly  than  that  which  Doddridge  offered  in  his  incom- 
parable sermon  on  the  death  of  his  darling  Elizabeth,  in 
her  fifth  year,  which  is  said  to  have  been  Avritten,  in 
part,  upon  the  coffin  which  inclosed  her  remains.* 

Some  characters  in  the  history  of  their  social  life  shine 
with  a  forbidding  grandeur.  Their  virtues  are  stern, 
awful,  majestic.  They  seem  to  retire  from  us.  They 
are  fenced  round  with  a  superiority  that  keeps  us  at  a 
distance.  Their  brilliant  points  are  points  of  repulsion. 
Others  beam  with  a  mild,  attractive  light :  their  virtues 
are  of  the  gentle  cast :  they  seem  to  approach.  The 
distance  between  us  lessens  the  longer  we  look.  Their 
goodness  is  magnetic.  Before  the  former  we  uncover  our 
heads,  and  kneel  down  ;  the  latter  we  embrace  as  friends. 
We  need  not  say  to  which  class  Doddridge  belongs. 

*  My  venerable  friend,  the  Rev.  T.  P.  Bull,  has  in  his  possession 
the  original  MS.  of  this  discourse,  which  he  brought  to  show  us  at  the 
Northampton  meeting,  when  this  memorial  was  presented.  In  Dr. 
Doddridq-c's  private  account-book,  in  the  possession  of  Mr.  Charles 
Reed,  there  occurs  the  following  item,  under  the  proper  date : — "  For 
funeral  expenses,  £12  7s.  3d." 


CHAPTER  V. 

HIS     SPIRITUAL     LIFE. 

Rich,  ripe  fruits  of  holy,  Christ-like  labor  borne  by 
Doddridge,  plainly  indicated  the  existence  and  vigor 
of  a  corresponding  inward  life.  It  is  not  necessary  for 
our  satisfaction  respecting  the  vital  grace  of  Christian 
character,  that  there  should  be  disclosed  to  us  the  secret 
processes  of  the  soul's  experience,  any  more  than  that 
for  us  to  know  that  a  tree  is  living  we  should  see  its 
roots.  But  the  penetralia  of  the  inner  man  has  been 
opened  in  the  case  of  Doddridge,  and  the  sacred  things 
there  disclosed  are  too  precious  to  be  passed  by  without 
some  looks  of  lingering  admiration.  His  private  papers 
reveal  the  rise  and  progress  of  religion  in  his  soul,  like 
a  river-course  cleansing  itself  from  its  first  impure  ad- 
mixtures, and  swelling  into  a  broad,  deep  flood  of  silvery 
splendor.  As  we  turn  over  his  diary  and  letters,  his 
growth  in  grace  is  manifest :  from  year  to  year  he  in- 
creases in  Christian  stature.  He  puts  away  childish 
things  ;  he  drops  his  boyish  follies,  and  rises  into  the 
grave,   earnest,  strong-willed,  consistent  man  of  God. 


152  HIS    SPIRITUAL    LIFE. 

No  man  ever  became  what  Doddridge  was  by  accident. 
The  methods  he  adopted  for  the  growth  and  govern- 
ment of  spiritual  life  are  notable.  Taking  God's  writ- 
ten word  as  his  Magna  Charta  law,  he,  like  many  other 
good  men,  and  not  unwisely,  enacted  for  himself,  in  har- 
mony with  these,  certain  bye-laws  for  the  better  carrying 
out  the  spirit  of  his  supreme  obligations.  lie  framed 
rules  for  the  employment  of  time,  the  order  of  business, 
his  reading,  his  prayers,  his  self-examination,  and  the 
whole  range  of  his  daily  conduct.  These  were  reduced 
to  writing,  and  in  them  were  embodied  the  definite 
standard  he  meant  to  aim  at — the  minute  laws  he 
meant  to  work  by.  If  the  ideal  excellence  proposed  be 
not  defined  and  lofty,  and  the  rules  adopted  in  its  pur- 
suits strict  and  exact,  the  actual  excellence  attained  will 
be  irregular  and  low.  Material  builders  work  by  lines 
of  mathematical  correctness,  and  spiritual  builders  must 
work  by  lines  of  moral  perfection.  When  we  forget 
Divine  rules,  and  go  on  building  without  reference  to 
them,  such  faith  and  holiness  as  we  so  erect,  soon  be- 
come "  as  a  bowing  wall  and  tottering  fence."  Devia- 
ting from  the  perpendicular,  the  work  falls  down,  and 
our  labor  is  all  lost.  And  never  does  the  spiritual 
workman,  any  more  than  the  mechanical  one,  in  his 
happiest  efforts  attain  to  the  ideal  standard  at  which  he 
aims  ;  but  it  would  be  idle  and  foolish  on  that  account, 
in  either  case,  to  throw  aside  the  plumb-line,  and  say, 
aiming  at  perfect  exactitude  is  useless.     Rather,  after 


HIS    SriRITUAL    LIFE.  153 

failure,  whatever  its  degree,  should  we  not  return  to  the 
reconstruction  of  our  spiritual  life  task  according  to  the 
original  rule — persuaded  that,  though  approximation  to 
faultlessness  is  all  we  can  expect  to  secure  in  this  life, 
the  standard  of  perfection  must  be  kept  in  view,  or  even 
approximation  will  be  impossible  ?  So  did  Doddridge. 
He  aimed  and  strove,  and  when  he  failed,  he  sought 
forgiveness  of  the  Divine  Master  under  whom  he  worked, 
and  returned  to  his  work  anew,  according  to  the  old 
rules.  Many  a  lamentation  do  you  find  in  his  diary 
over  follies  and  failures,  over  purposes  broken,  and  temp- 
tations yielded  to  ;  but  the  end  of  all  is  a  fresh  visit  to 
the  cross,  and  renewed  cries  for  spiritual  succor.  His 
papers  show  how  he  was  ever  striving  to  bring  his 
thoughts  and  affections  under  the  mastery  of  his  will. 
He  instituted  a  kind  of  spiritual  police,  to  keep  in  order 
the  refractory,  and  too  often  mob-like,  dwellers  in  the 
jowl's  republic ;  a  method  by  no  means  to  be  despised, 
for  it  is  one  which  has  proved  astonishingly  effective  in 
the  experience  of  certain  hard-willed  men.  Doddridge 
seems  to  have  been  benefitted  by  the  expedient,  though, 
like  so  many  of  us,  he  had  immense  trouble  with  some 
of  the  vagrant  thoughts  which  frequent  and  hang  about 
the  mental  thoroughfares.  lie  had  still  more  trouble 
with  those  vigorous  affections  of  his ;  and,  after  pruning 
their  wild  luxuriance,  he  often  had  to  lament  their  rapid 
re-growth.  Like  the  mariner,  who  ever  and  anon  takes 
the  sounding-  of  the  sea,  and  looks  at  the  bright  stars 


154  HI3    SPIRITUAL    LIFE. 

overhead,  to  ascertain  where  he  is,  and  whither  he  is 
going, — so  did  the  divine  mariner,  in  his  heavenward 
voyage,  carefully  at  ihe  same  time  noting  down  in  his 
spiritual  log-book  the  result  of  his  observations.  Hav- 
ing marked  the  passing  religious  experience  of  one 
period,  he  would  review  it  afterwards,  in  order  to  meas- 
ure the  progress  or  retrogression  of  his  course. 

AYitk  all  his  religious  exercises  there  was  blended  the 
spirit  of  prayer ;  and  if  one  thing  more  than  another 
appears  conspicuous  in  the  revelations  of  his  inner  life, 
it  is  the  habit  of  enlarged  and  frequent  intercourse  with 
God.  The  intensity  of  this  habit  was  remarkable,  espe- 
cially in  the  latter  periods  of  his  history.  From  his 
diary,  it  appears  that  on  certain  occasions  he  devoted  a 
large  portion  of  the  day  to  supplication  :  he  had  strong 
faith  in  the  power  of  prayer.  How  he  agonized  for 
others,  as  for  himself,  interceding  for  flock,  pupils,  and 
children  by  name !  In  yonder  vestry  did  he  spend 
many  of  those  seasons  which  he  marks  conspicuously  in 
his  spiritual  calendar.  Again  and  again  does  he  speak 
of  "  my  asylum,  the  vestry"  thus  crowding  that  spot 
with  hallowed  memorials,  which  like  rich  spiritual  tap- 
estry hang  round  the  walls,  in  the  eye  of  those  familiar 
with  his  secret  confessions.  "  An  asylum"  no  doubt  it 
was  from  rough  storms,  by  which  his  gentle  spirit  was 
ofttimes  overtaken;  but  in  reading  his  meditations  at 
these  times,  we  find  it  was  many  things  besides  an  asy- 
lum, presenting  to  our  view  the  chequered  landscape  of 


HIS    SPIRITUAL    LIFE.  155 

a  pilgrim's  journey, — becoming  "a  slough  of  despond," 
and  "  a  wicket-gate  ;"  "  an  interpreters  house,"  and  "  a 
hill  difficulty  ;"  a  "  valley  of  humiliation,"  and  "  an  en- 
chanted ground  ;"  "  a  delectable  mountain,"  and  "  a 
land  Beulah ;"  and  all  of  these  by  turns,  perhaps  in  one 
short  day.  It  was  a  place  of  conflict.  John  Huss  once 
dreamed  he  saw,  on  the  one  side,  the  powers  of  the 
world  busily  effacing  from  the  walls  of  his  chapel  of 
Bethlehem  the  pictures  of  Jesus,  and  on  the  other,  an- 
gels' hands  restoring  them  in  more  than  their  original 
beauty  and  brilliancy.  And  so,  as  we  look  on  Dod- 
dridge in  his  vestry,  do  we  seem  to  see  the  image  of 
Christ  brought  out  in  fresher  colors  by  the  heavenly  in- 
fluence of  prayer  and  meditation,  after  earthly  and  still 
more  potent  powers  for  evil  had  been  striving  to  wipe  it 
out.  It  was  a  mount  of  vision.  Humboldt  describes 
the  Peak  of  Teneriffe,  when  the  current  of  heated  air 
pierced  the  veil  of  vapor,  and  the  traveller,  standing  on 
the  edi>-e  of  the  cinder-circled  crater,  saw  through  the 
opening  the  vine-covered  slopes  of  Orotava,  and  the 
orange  gardens,  and  bananas  of  the  coast.  And  how, 
on  that  hallowed  spot  to  which  we  have  just  referred, 
did  our  spiritual  pilgrim  catch  enchanting  views  of  spir- 
itual things — of  regions  the  sight  of  Avhich  refreshed  his 
cloud-covered  soul,  and  filled  him  with  unutterable 
delight ! 

At  the  Lord's  table  did  he,  with  pre-eminent  energy, 
endeavor  to  lift  up  his  soul  to  God  for  his  own  purifica- 


156  HIS    SPIRITUAL    LIFE. 

tion  and  comfort,  himself  feeding  upon  the  spiritual 
provision  which  he  proceeded  to  distribute  among  his 
flock.  Sometimes  the  ingushing  of  his  joy  was  too  im- 
petuous even  for  his  large  heart  to  hold, — like  Arnold, 
who  told  his  wife,  three  weeks  before  his  death,  that  he 
felt  "  quite  a  rush  of  love  in  his  heart  towards  God  and 
Christ."  The  morning  of  one  of  his  sacrament  days  he 
mentions  in  particular,  as  a  period  when  God  was  pleased 
to  meet  him  in  his  secret  retirement,  and  to  pour  into 
his  soul  such  a  flood  of  consolations,  in  the  exercise  of 
faith  and  love,  as  he  was  scarcely  able  to  sustain.  It 
would  have  been  a  relief  to  him,  he  said,  to  have  been 
able  to  utter  strong  cries  of  joy.  These  days  were,  in- 
deed, as  the  days  of  heaven  dropped  down  on  earth — 
transfiguration  days,  when,  in  the  bright  cloud,  and  his 
Lord's  presence,  he  could  cry  with  Peter,  "  It  is  good  to 
be  here."  From  one  of  the  beautiful  landing-places  in 
his  heavenly  ascent,  which  such  seasons  afforded,  we  find 
him  taking  a  survey  of  his  spiritual  duties ;  and  how 
sweetly  he  talks  of  them,  as  they  lie  spread  around  him, 
like  a  delightsome  land  ! — "  It  is  pleasant  to  read,  pleas- 
ant to  compose,  pleasant  to  converse  with  my  friends  at 
home,  pleasant  to  visit  those  abroad — the  poor,  the 
sick — pleasant  to  write  letters  of  necessary  business,  by 
which  any  good  can  be  done — pleasant  to  go  out  and 
preach  the  Gospel  to  poor  souls,  of  which  some  are 
thirsting  for  it.  and  others  dying  without  it — pleasant  in 
the  week-day  to  think  how  near  another  Sabbath  is; 


HIS    SPIRITUAL    LIFE.  loi 

but,  oh  !  much  more  pleasant  to  think  how  near  eternity 
is,  and  how  short  the  journey  through  this  wilderness, 
and  that  it  is  but  a  step  from  earth  to  heaven." 

At  a  later  period  he  states,  in  a  letter  to  his  wife — 
M  Last  LordVday  was  our  sacrament  day,  and  indeed  it 
was  a  most  comfortable  one  to  me  ;  my  joy  at  that  ordi- 
nance was  so  great,  that  I  could  not  well  contain  it.  I 
had  much  ado  to  forbear  telling  all  about  me,  as  well  as 
I  could — for  it  would  have  been  but  in  a  very  imperfect 
manner — what  a  divine  flame  I  felt  in  my  soul,  which, 
indeed,  put  me  greatly  in  mind  of  Mr.  Howe's  -  full 
stream  of  rays.''  \Yere  it  possible  to  carry  such  impres- 
sions throuo-h  life,  it  would  give  the  soul  a  kind  of  inde- 
pendence  far  too  high  for  a  mortal  existence.  It  was  in- 
deed, in  the  most  literal  and  proper  sense,  a  "joy  un- 
speakable and  full  of  glory.'"* 

*  He  often  in  verse  expressed  his  devout  feelings.  Tbe  following 
lines,  written  on  Christmas-day,  1742,  are  a  specimen.  They  are 
given  me  by  Mr.  Charles  Reed,  and  I  insert  them  because  they  have 
never  been  published  before  : — 

On  the  Xativifij  of  Christ.     (From  Luke  xi.  10-12.) 
"  Hail !  Progeny  Divine  ! 

Hail !  Virgin's  wondrous  Son  ! 
"Who,  for  the  humble  shrine. 

Didst  quit  the  almighty  throne. 
Thee,  infant  Lord  !  our  voices  sing, 
And  be  the  King  of  grace  adored. 

"  Ye  princes,  disappear, 

And  boast  your  crowns  no  more  ; 
Lay  down  your  sceptres  here, 

And  in  the  dust  adore. 
Where  Jesus  dwells,  the  manger  bare 
In  lustre  far  your  pomp  excels."' 

o 


lo»  HIS    SPIRITUAL    LIFE. 

Sometimes  his  vigorous  fancy,  roused  by  rapturous  ex- 
citements, would  create  in  the  still  hours  of  night,  holy 
and  beautiful  dreams.  One  in  particular  he  had,  after 
a  conversation  with  Dr.  Clark,  on  the  state  of  the  soul 
after  death.  He  dreamed  that  he  was  dead,  and  that  his 
spirit  soared  away  into  those  deep  regions  of  the  infinite, 
which  oftentimes  awaken  our  trembling  curiosity.  He 
felt,  as  he  lost  sight  of  this  noisy,  busy  world,  how  vain 
and  empty  are  the  objects  which  excite  its  inhabitants  so 
much  ;  and  while  musing  on  the  theme,  and  committing 
himself  to  the  care  of  the  Divine  pilot,  as  he  embarked 
on  the  ocean  of  immensity  and  sailed  amidst  islands  of 
stars,  he  fancied  he  was  met  on  the  shores  of  heaven  by 
an  angel  guide,  who  conducted  him  to  a  palace  which 
had  been  assigned  for  his  abode.  The  dreamer  won- 
dered at  the  place,  for  it  made  him  think  that  heaven 
was  not  so  unlike  earth  as  the  teachings  of  Scripture  had 
led  him  to  expect ;  but  he  was  told  that  there  he  was  to 
be  gradually  prepared  for  unknown  glories  aftewards  to 
be  revealed.  In  the  inner  apartment  of  the  palace  stood 
a  golden  cup,  with  a  grape-vine  embossed  on  it,  which 
he  learned  was  meant  to  signify  the  living  union  of 
Christ  and  his  people.  But  as  he  and  his  guide  were 
talking,  a  gentle  knock  at  the  door  before  him  announced 
the  approach  of  some  one,  when,  the  portals  unfolding, 
revealed  the  majestic  presence  of  the  Redeemer  of  the 
Church.  The  now  glorified  disciple  immediately  fell  at 
the  feet  of  his  gracious  Lord,  but  was  raised  with  assur- 


HIS    SPIRITUAL    LIFE.  159 

auces  of  favor,  and  of  the  kind  acceptance  which  had 
been  vouchsafed  to  all  his  loving  services.  Then  taking 
up  the  cup  and  drinking  out  of  it,  the  Saviour  put  it  in 
his  servant's  hands,  inviting  him  to  drink,  who  shrunk 
from  the  amazing  honor ;  but  was  told,  "  If  thou  drink 
it  not,  thou  hast  no  part  with  me."  He  was  ready  to 
sink  under  the  transport  of  gratitude  and  joy  which  was 
thus  produced,  when  that  condescending  One,  in  con- 
sideration of  his  weakness,  left  him  for  a  while,  with  the 
assurance  he  would  soon  return,  directing  him  in  the 
meanwhile  to  look  and  meditate  upon  the  objects  which 
were  around ;  and  lo !  there  were  pictures  hung  all 
about,  illustrative  of  his  own  pilgrim  life — scene  after 
scene  of  trial  and  deliverance,  of  conflict  and  victory, 
meeting  his  eves,  and  filling  his  heart  with  love  and 
wonder.  And  as  he  gazed  on  them,  he  thought, — what 
we  often  fancy  will  be  the  saint's  first  thought  in 
heaven — how  all  the  perils  of  his  former  life  were  now 
forever  over.  Exulting  in  his  new-found  safety,  a  burst 
of  joy  broke  the  enchantment  of  his  celestial  dream,  and 
he  woke  again,  amidst  floods  of  tears,  to  the  conscious- 
ness that  he  was  in  the  body  still.  Under  the  inspiration 
of  this  dream,  he  wrote  that  favorite  hymn — 

While  on  the  verge  of  life  I  stand, 
And  view  the  scene  on  either  hand, 
My  spirit  struggles  with  its-clay, 
And  longs  to  wing  its  flight  away. 

Where  Jesus  dwells,  my  soul  would  be ; 
It  faints  my  much  loved  Lord  to  see  ; 


160  HIS    SPIRITUAL    LIFE. 

Earth  twines  no  more  around  my  heart; 
For  oh  !  rt  were  better  to  depart. 

Come,  ye  angelic  envoy,  come, 
And  lead  the  willing  pilgrim  home : 
Ye  know  the  way  to  that  bright  throne, 
Source  of  my  joys,  and  of  your  own. 

That  blessed  interview,  how  sweet ! 
To  fall  transported  at  His  feet ! 
Raised  in  His  arms  to  view  His  face, 
Through  the  full  beaming?  of  His  grace  ! 

To  see  heaven's  shining  courtiers  round, 
Each  with  immortal  glories  crown'd  : 
And  while  His  form  in  each  I  trace, 
With  that  fraternal  band  embrace. 

As  with  a  seraph's  voice  to  sing  ! 
To  fly,  as  on  a  cherub's  wing  ! 
Performing,  with  unwearied  hands, 
A  present  Saviour's  high  commands. 

Yet,  with  these  prospects  full  in  sight, 
I'll  wait  thy  signal  for  my  flight : 
And  in  thy  service  here  below, 
Confess  that  heavenly  joj  s  may  grow. 


The  secret  of  all  spiritual  life  is  faith  in  the  unseen. 
Very  diversified  have  been  the  gifts  and  attainments  of 
holy  Christian  men  ;  very  various  their  idiosyncrasy  of 
character ;  but  here  we  touch  the  meeting-point,  the 
centre  of  unity  among  them  all.  A  firm  and  living  be- 
lief had  they  in  the  spiritual  verities  revealed  in  the 
Gospel  of  Christ.  Peter  was  ardent,  and  John  was 
gentle  ;  Luther  was  bold,  and  Melancthon  bland  ;  Baxter 
was  controversial,  and  Howe  contemplative ;  Whitfield 


HIS    SPIRITUAL    LIFE.  161 

was  ever  excited,  and  Wesley  was  ever  calm;  but  in 
them  all  there  was  striking  down  into  the  lowest  depths 
of  the  soul  the  mighty  power  of  faith,  even  as,  all  the 
globe  over,  in  zones  torrid  and  temperate — in  the  old 
world  and  the  new, — under  every  part  of  the  earth's 
prolific  vegetation — under  the  palm  and  under  the  pine — 
under  the  olive  and  under  the  oak — there  are  the  same 
enduring  rocks  of  schist,  basalt,  and  granite.  And  so 
with  Doddridge,  that  faith  which  is  the  substance  of 
things  hoped  for,  the  conviction  of  things  not  seen,  was 
the  grand  substratum  that  bore  up  ali  the  beauty  and 
power  of  his  spiritual  life  and  holy  character.  He  had 
a  heart-penetrating  faith  in  the  truths  of  the  Christian 
revelation,  and  it  had  been  cultivated  by  deep  thought- 
fulness  and  study,  by  long-repeated  patient  meditation, 
by  musing  again  and  oftentimes  upon  the  same  truth, 
till  the  shadows  melted  from  it,  and  it  came  up  before 
the  mind  a  distinct  and  living  thing. 

And  in  the  intensity  and  vigor  of  his  spiritual  life,  so 
nourished  and  sustained,  was  the  secret  of  his  efficiency 
in  Christian  labor.  A  negative,  dark,  cold,  inert  state 
of  mind  with  regard  to  the  Gospel — a  state  of  mind, 
which,  if  not  amounting  to  c?/s-belief,  is  of  the  nature  of 
tin-belief — sadly  impairs  the  power  of  a  man's  ministra- 
tions, and  makes  him  speak  with  a  sort  of  paralytic 
muttering,  instead  of  the  bold,  articulate  tones  in  which 
souls  enjoying  a  healthy  manhood  talk  of  Divine  things. 
The  minister  in  such  a  state,  trying  to  do  what  Dod- 


162  HIS    SPIRITUAL    LIFE. 

dridge  did,  will  fail  because  he  is  not  what  Doddridge 
was — even  as  the  Egyptian  magicians  foiled  when  they 
tried,  with  their  poor  enchantments,  to  effect  what  Moses 
and  Aaron  achieved  through  the  inward  working  of  a 
Divine  power.  Doddridge  spake  with  earnestness,  out 
of  the  fulness  of  his  heart,  and  hence  the  force  of  his 
ministrations.  He  was  a  living  soul,  and  therefore  God 
employed  him,  as  he  does  such  souls,  not  after  the  man- 
ner of  a  mere  instrument,  but  after  the  manner  of  an 
honored  agent.  He  employed  him,  not  as  he  used 
Sennacherib  and  Nebuchadnezzar,  and  men  of  that 
stamp — like  implements  of  labor  like  such  things  as 
axes  and  saws,  rods  and  staves, — things  which,  when 
they  are  done  with,  are  cast  away  and  burnt, — but  as  he 
employ qd  Paul  and  John,  workmen  honored  while  in 
their  office,  and  rewarded  with  costly  distinctions  when 
their  toils  were  over. 


CHAPTER   VI. 


HIS     LAST     DAYS. 


A  cold  caught  in  December,  1*750,  as  he  was  g 
to  preach  Dr.  Clark's  funeral  sermon,  laid  the  founda- 
tion of  Doddridge's  fatal  illness.  He  recovered  consid- 
erably and  then  relapsed  ;  pulmonary  disease  appeared, 
and  he  was  more  and  more  indisposed.  The  end  of  his 
exemplary  labors  now  rapidly  approached.  The  last 
ordinance  came,  and  the  holy  man,  having  preached 
about  the  general  assembly  and  church  of  the  First 
Born,  talked  very  sweetly  at  the  table  of  Him  who 
holds  the  stars  in  his  right  hand  and  walks  among  the 
golden  candlesticks,  expressing  confidence  in  his  care 
and  love,  and  dropping  hints  relative  to  his  own  disso- 
lution, so  that  those  who  listened  to  his  voice  feared 
they  should  soon  see  his  face  no  more.  Then  came  the 
last  sermon  at  Northampton,  from  that  glorious  text, 
u  Whether  we  live,  therefore,  or  die  we  are  the  Lord's  " 
full  of  sanctified  thought  and  elevated  feeling,  exactly 
such  as  might  have  been  expected  from  one  who  seemed 
conscious  he  was  just  entering  under  death's  dark  arch- 


104:  HIS    LAST    DAYS. 

way,  but  saw  that  city,  which  is  ever  suffused  with  di- 
vine sunlight,  lifting  up  its  gates  on  the  other  side. 
And  then  came  the  last  sendee  of  all,  at  the  ordination 
of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Adams,  at  Bewdly.  Next  came  the 
parting  visit  to  the  loved  and  faithful  Orton,  at  Shrews- 
bury, when  Doddridge  received  from  Barker  the  won- 
derfully impassioned  letter,  which  surely  no  one  can 
read  without  mingling  his  tears  with  those  in  which 
Doddridge  bathed  it  as  he  read  the  burning  lines: — 
"  Consent  and  choose  to  stay  with  us  a  while  longer,  my 
dear  friend,  if  it  please  God.  This  is  not  needful  to 
Northampton  and  its  adjacent  towns  and  villages,  but 
desirable  to  us  all,  and  beneficial  to  our  whole  interest. 
Stay,  Doddridge,  oh  stay,  and  strengthen  our  hands, 
whose  shadows  grow  long.  Fifty  is  but  the  height  of 
vigor,  usefulness  and  honor.  Don't  take  leave  abruptly. 
Providence  hath  not  directed  thee  yet  on  whom  to  drop 
thy  mantle.  "Who  shall  instruct  our  youth,  fill  our  va- 
cant churches,  animate  our  associations,  and  diffuse  a 
spirit  of  piety,  moderation,  candor,  and  charity,  through 
our  villages  and  churches,  and  a  spirit  of  prayer  and 
supplication  into  our  towns  and  cities  when  thou  art 
removed  from  us  ?  Especially  who  shall  unfold  the 
sacred  oracles,  teach  us  the  meaning  and  use  of  our 
Bibles,  rescue  us  from  the  bondage  of  systems,  party 
opinions,  empty,  useless  speculations  and  fashionable 
forms  and  phrases,  and  point  out  to  us  the  simple,  intel- 
ligible, consistent,  uniform   religion   of  our  Lord  and 


HIS    LAST    DAYS.  165 

Saviour  ?  Who  shall — but  I  am  silenced  by  the  voice 
of  Him  who  says,  '  Shall  I  not  do  what  I  will  with  my 

own  ?  Is  it  not  1113-  prerogative  to  take  and  leave  as 
seemeth  me  good  ?  I  demand  the  liberty  of  disposing 
of  my  own  servants  at  my  own  pleasure.  He  hath  la- 
bored more  abundantly.  His  times  are  in  my  hand. 
He  hath  not  slept  as  do  others.  He  hath  risen  to  nobler 
heights  than  things  below.  He  hopes  to  inherit  glory. 
He  hath  labored  for  that  which  endureth  to  eternal 
life, — labor  which,  the  more  it  abounds,  the  more  it 
exalts  and  magnifies  its  objects,  and  the  more  effectually 
answers  and  secures  its  end.  It  is  yours  to  wait  and 
trust,  mine  to  dispose  and  govern  ;  on  me  be  the  care 
of  ministers  and  churches.  With  me  is  the  residue  of 
the  Spirit.  Both  the  vineyard  and  the  laborers  are 
mine.  I  set  them  to  work,  and  when  I  please,  I  call 
them  and  give  them  their  hire.'  With  these  thoughts 
my  passions  subside — my  mind  is  softened  and  satisfie  1. 
I  resign  thee,  myself,  and  ail  to  God,  saying,  '  Thy  will 
be  done.' "  Then  came  the  visit  to  Bath  and  Bristol, 
and  the  ineffectual  use  of  the  hot-wells,  amidst  expres- 
sions of  sympathy  and  proofs  of  delicate  attention  from 
persons  of  high  rank ;  friends  at  Northampton  all  the 
while  meeting  three  times  a  week  to  intercede  for  him 
with  the  only  Preserver  of  men.  But  it  was  in  vain. 
The  hoarse  cough,  the  low  voice,  were  unmistakable 
premonitions.  But  his  mind  was  peaceful.  "I  bless 
God,"  he  says,  "  that  I  have  the  powerful  supports  of 


166  HIS    LAST    DAYS. 

Christianity ;  nor  is  it  any  grievance  of  heart  to  me, 
but,  on  the  contrary,  an  unspeakable  pleasure,  that  I 
have  spent  my  life  among  the  Protestant  Dissenters,  and 
sacrificed  to  honor,  liberty,  and  conscience,  those  consid- 
erations which  persons  devoted  to  avarice  and  ambition 
think  great  and  irresistible." 

Not  to  neglect  the  last  hope,  it  was  resolved  he  should 
go  to  a  warmer  climate.  Then  came  the  journey  to 
Falmouth,  to  embark  for  Lisbon.  As  fancy  sees  the 
falling  leaves  and  rain,  and  hears  the  autumnal  wind  of 
that  year,  just  a  century  since,  how  they  seem  to  drop 
and  sweep  with  sad  prophetic  significance  round  the 
old-fashioned  chariot  and  four  which  bears  the  languid 
frame  of  our  dear  Doddridge  through  the  rough  wet 
roads  of  Devonshire  !  We  feel,  as  we  ride  along  with 
him,  as  if  the  hearse  were  not  far  behind.  Violent 
symptoms  at  the  place  of  embarkation  suggest  the  pro- 
posal, "  Shall  he  return  ?"  He  answers,  "  The  die  is 
cast,  and  I  choose  to  go."  We  go  with  him  on  board 
the  commodious  packet-boat  secured  for  him  by  his 
friend  Warburton ;  and,  as  Ave  are  touched  to  the  heart 
by  the  patience  of  the  sufferer,  we  are  equally  affected 
with  admiration  at  the  heroism  and  tenderness  of  the 
brave-hearted  woman  his  faithful  wife.  The  last  letter 
is  dispatched  : — "  Let  us  think  of  this  as  a  momentary 
state,  and  aspire  more  ardently  after  the  blessings  of 
that.  If  I  survive  my  voyage,  a  line  shall  tell  you  how 
I  bear  it.     If  not,  all  will  be  well,  and  (as  good  Mr. 


HIS    LAST    DAYS.  167 

Howe  says)  I  hope  I  shall  embrace  the  wave,  that,  when 
I  intended  Lisbon,  should  land  me  in  heaven.  I  am 
more  afraid  of  doing  what  is  wrong  than  of  dying." 
The  vessel  looses  from  her  moorings,  and  sails  out  to  sea, 
when  the  soft  air  and  fresh  breeze  revive  the  sufferer. 
Sitting  in  his  easy  chair,  as  the  September  sun  plays  on 
the  water,  and  comes  pouring  in  at  the  cabin  window, 
he  whispers  to  his  wife,  "  I  cannot  express  to  you  what 
a  morning  I  have  had.  Such  delightful  and  transport- 
ing views  of  the  heavenly  world  is  my  Father  now  in- 
dulging me  with  as  no  words  can  express."  And  then 
the  rapture  of  his  countenance  seems  to  utter  the  lines 
of  his  own  hymn — 

When  death  o'er  nature  shall  prevail, 
And  all  its  powers  of  language  fail, 
Joy  through  my  swimming  eyes  shall  break, 
And  mean  the  thanks  I  cannot  speak. 

After  being  becalmed  some  days  in  the  Bay  of  Biscay, 
where  the  intensity  of  the  heat  threatens  his  speedy  dis- 
solution, he  reaches  the  coast  of  Portugal.  The  heights 
of  Cintra,  the  church  and  light-house  of  Nossa  Senhora 
de  Guia,  the  convent  of  St.  Antonio,  and  the  town  of 
Cascaes  come  in  view.  A  rare  scene  of  beauty  and 
grandeur  is  the  entrance  to  the  Tagus  : — "  Convents  and 
quintas,  gray  olive  yards,  green  orange  groves,  and 
greener  vineyards  ;  the  shore  more  populous  every  mo- 
ment as  we  advance,  and  finer  buildings  opening  upon 
us ;  the  river,  bright  as  the  blue  sky,  swarming  with 


168  HIS    LAST    DAYS. 

boats  of  every  size  and  shape,  with  sails  of  every  imagi- 
nable variety ;  innumerable  ships  riding  at  anchor  far 
as  the  eye  could  reach,  and  the  city  extending  along  the 
shore,  and  covering  the  hills  to  the  furthest  point  of 
sight"*  The  day  is  so  fine,  the  air  so  soft,  the  scene  so 
novel,  that  they  impart  fresh  strength  and  spirits  to  the 
invalid  voyager,  who  for  two  hours  continues  upon  deck, 
and  is  so  refreshed  as  to  indulge  in  flattering  hopes  of 
recovery.  «  But  these  promising  appearances  are  illusive. 
Landed  at  the  port,  and  hospitably  entertained  at  the 
house  of  Mr.  King,f  the  son  of  one  of  his  old  members, 
he  gradually  sinks.  He  is  removed  into  the  country, 
but  the  rainy  season  comes  on  and  produces  a  change 
which  cuts  off  all  expectation  of  recovery  .J     The  spirit 

*  This  description  of  the  Tagus  is  taken  from  "  Southey's  Life  and 
Correspondence,"  vol.  ii. 

+  Dr.  Doddridge,  in  a  letter  dated  August  12th,  1746,  alludes  to 
some  news  he  had  received  from  this  gentleman  : — '•  Mr.  King 
writes  me  word  that  the  Portuguese  looked  on  the  English  govern- 
ment as  quite  overthrown ;  upon  which  the  common  people  began 
to  think  it  was  not  necessary  to  keep  on  terms  with  heretics,  and  the 
Papists,  though  protected  there  by  us,  threatened  soon  to  wash  their 
hands  in  the  blood  of  Protestants.  Yet  he  says  many  of  them  have 
lost  vast  sums  of  money  by  the  prodigious  wagers  they  have  laid  of 
the  success  of  the  rebellion." — Unpublished  Correspondence,  in  the 
possession  of  Josh.  Wilson,  Esq. 

X  The  following  passages  from  an  unpublished  letter  from  his 
wife,  give  a  particular  account  of  Dr.  Doddridge's  illness  : — "  My 
time,  after  the  first  day,  was  chiefly  employed  great  part  of  the  night 
in  writing  letters,  as  I  had  no  time  for  this  in  the  day.  which  was  in 
a  great  measure  taken  up  in  looking  after  lodgings,  which  I  was  not 
able  to  procure  till  Wednesday  evening.  And  as  the  Doctor  was 
very  desirous  we  should  get  into  the  country  as  soon  as  possible,  we 
purposed  to  have  went  to  them  on  the  Thursday  ;  but  I  was  taken  so 


HIS    LAST    DAYS.  169 

rises  in  joy  as  the  body  sinks  in  death  ;  and  at  last,  on 
the  26th  of  October,  1751,  a  gentle  sleep  falls  on  the 
worn-out  frame,  a  harbinger  of  more  tranquil  slumbers 
to  remain  unbroken  till  the  judgment  bell  shall  toll 
time's  requiem,  and  ring  in  the  morning  of  eternity. 
All  that  is  mortal  of  Doddridge  sleeps  in  the  burying- 
ground  of  the  British  factory  ;*  but  the  immortal  spirit, 

violently  ill  in  the  night,  as  not  to  be  able  to  stir  out  of  my  room  for 
three  days. — On  the  Thursday  the  dear  deceased  was  seized,  and  we 
were  both  too  ill  to  be  able  to  move"our  quarters  ;  but  on  the  Mon- 
day, as  we  were  hoth  better,  we  went  to  our  lodgings,  though  I  was 
so  weak  as  hardly  able  without  help  to  walk  across  my  room.  Our 
lodgiugs  were  about  three  miles  out  of  Lisbon  ;  and  though  he  was 
conveyed  in  a  sedan-chair  and  carried  very  slow,  yet  he  was  so  ex- 
tremely fatigued  that  he  wanted  to  have  gone  to  bed  as  soon  as  he 
got  in  ;  but  notwithstanding  the  repeated  charges  that  had  been 
given,  and  the  promises  of  the  person  of  the  house,  that  the  rooms 
and  beds  should  be  thoroughly  aired,  when  I  came  to  examine  bis 
bed,  I  found  it  so  damp  that  I  was  forced  to  have  large  fires  made, 
and  every  part  of  the  bedding  aired  ;  so  that  he  could  not  be  got  to 
bed  for  more  than  three  hours. — What  still  increased  this  ruelancholy 
sceue  was  my  maid's  being  taken  ill,  I  think  the  very  next  day,  and 
incapable  of  doing  anything  for  us  for  several  days.  The  sudden 
change  of  weather,  which  came  on  soon  after  we  got  into  our  lodgings, 
cut  oft' everything  I  had  to  hope  from  air  and  exercise,  and  by  the  man- 
ner in  which  it  ali'ected  him,  I  doubt  not  was  the  appointed  instru- 
ment of  Providence  to  cut  shorter  his  few  remaining  days.  He 
never  was  out  of  his  room  but  once  after  the  first  night  be  was  put 
to  bed,  which  was  on  the  Wednesday  about  the  middle  of  the  day ; 
the  weather  being  fine,  he  walked,  with  my  helping  him,  into  another 
large  airy  room  that  we  had  joining  to  our  lodging-room." 

*  A  simple  monument  was  erected  over  his  remains.  This,  in  the 
course  of  time,  became  decayed  ;  but  the  Rev.  Mr.  Miller,  the  British 
chaplain  in  1814,  had  the  stone  cleaned  at  his  own  expense,  and  the 
letters  recut.  In  1S-28,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Taylor  caused  a  new  marble 
tomb  to  be  erected,  of  which  a  drawing  now  lis  s  before  me.  It  bears 
the  following  inscription  : — 

"  Philip  Doddridge,  D.D.,  died  October  26th,  1751,  aged  50." 

P 


170  HIS    LAST    DAYS. 

the  man  himself,  is  where  they  no  more  sleep  than  die, 
for  "  there  is  no  night  there." 

A  beautiful  letter  from  Mrs.  Doddridge,  inserted  in 
the  correspondence,  but  too  long  to  be  introduced  here, 
shows  the  Christian  magnanimity  with  which  she  bore 
the  heavy  trial  thus  laid  upon  her  by  her  heavenly 
Father  in  a  land  of  strangers.  She  soon  returned  to  her 
desolate  home,  and  devoted  herself,  with  characteristic 
energy  and  wisdom,  to  the  formation  of  the  character  of 
her  four  surviving  children.  They  had  from  their  in- 
fancy been  mainly  dependent  upon  her  instruction  and 
influence,  their  father's  numerous  public  engagements 
having  interfered  with  the  maintenance  of  much  paren- 
tal oversight  and  instruction  on  his  part.  The  son  was 
sixteen  years  of  age  at  the  time  of  his  father's  death, 
when  he  was  sent  to  Dr.  Ashworth's  academy  to  study 
for  the  ministry.  Letters  still  preserved  show,  that  be- 
fore his  studies  were  completed  he  became  conscious  the 
ministry  was  not  the  office  to  which  he  had  received  a 
vocation,  and,  relinquishing  his  early  prospects,  and  dis- 
appointing, probably,  a  mother's  hope,  he  adopted  the 
study  of  the  law.  Miss  Doddridge  was  married  to  John 
Humphreys,  Esq.,  of  Tewkesbury,  to  which  town  Mrs. 

To  this — according  to  the  "  Congregational  Magazine"  for  1830 — 
is  added : — 

'•  With  l\igh  respect  for  his  character  and  writings,  this  stone  of  re- 
memhrance  was  raised  upon  a  former  one  in  decay,  in  the  month  of 
June,  1828,  at  the  desire  and  expense  of  Thomas  Taylor,  of  all  his  nu- 
merous pupils  the  only  one  living." 


HIS    LAST    DAYS.  1 71 

Doddridge  retired  with  her  two  unmarried  daughters, 
Mary  and  Anna  Cecilia.  This  excellent  lady  lived  to  a 
good  old  age,  and  distinguished  by  noble  qualities  of 
mind  and  heart,  and  after  passing  through  fresh  domes- 
tic trials  in  her  last  days,  entered  her  everlasting  rest  in 
1790,  at  the  age  of  eighty-two.  Her  children  seem  all 
to  have  been  possessed  of  vigorous  minds,  and  in  this 
respect  to  have  inherited  their  mother's  endowments ; 
especially  Mary,  whose  mental  qualities  were  evidently 
of  a  very  superior  order.  She  died  at  Bath  in  1809,  at 
the  age  of  seventy-five.* 

*  A  lineal  descendant  survives  in  the  person  of  Mr.  John  Dod- 
dridge Humphreys,  son  of  the  editor  of  the  Correspondence,  grandson 
of  Mr.  Humphreys,  and  great-grandson  of  the  doctor.  He  was  present 
at  the  meeting  in  Northampton  when  this  memorial  was  read. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

RESULTS     OF     HIS     LABORS. 

Doddridge's  ministry  extended  over  tl>e  space  of 
nearly  thirty  years.  We  have  seen  what  was  the  state 
of  things  among  Dissenters  towards  the  close  of  the  first 
decade.  Evidence  remains  that  no  general  improvement 
took  place  during  the  latter  portion  of  his  life. 

A  comparison  of  such  imperfect  statistics  as  it  is  in  our 
power  to  consult,  shows  a  diminution  in  point  of  num- 
bers. Pedobaptist  congregations,  including  both  Pres- 
byterian and  Congregational,  are  reported  in  a  MS.  in 
Dr.  William's  library,  as  being  843,  in  the  year  1715.* 
In  1773  they  sink  down  to  729.  The  decrease  was  in 
the  Presbyterian  congregations.  Several  probably  be- 
came Independent.  The  great  defect  was,  that  Dissen- 
ters generally  did  not  take  proper  means  to  meet  the 
spiritual  wants  of  the  age,  by  the  employment  of  mis- 
sionary eflorts.f  FGW  meeting-houses  had  been  built,  or 
new  churches  formed,  since  the  first  excitement  occa- 

*  But  the  Baptists  increased  from  24<>  to  391. 

t  The  Fund  Board  and  the  King"s  Head  Society,  as  will  be  seen 
from  the  postscript,  were  not  inactive. 


RESULTS    OF    HIS    LABORS.  1  73 

sioned  by  the  Toleration  Act.  Nonconformists  had  been 
resting  on  their  oars ;  churches,  meant  to  be  lights  of  the 
world,  had  been  shut  up  and  hidden  ;  the  four  walls  of 
the  meeting-house  had  been,  in  too  many  instances,  as  a 
bushel  or  a  bed  to  conceal  the  candle.  Doddridge  evi- 
dently saw  the  mischief  of  this,  and  sought  to  remedy 
the  evil.  He  was  projecting  large  schemes  in  reference 
to  it,  when  death  put  a  stop  to  all  his  zeal  in  this  world. 
But  the  state  of  numbers  is  not  the  only  or  the  chief  con- 
sideration. As  in  the  Establishment  of  that  period,  so 
among  some  of  the  Dissenters,  the  distinguishing  truths 
of  the  gospel  were  laid  aside,  or  rarely  inculcated. 
Daniel  Neal,  in  17-10,  complains  that  evangelical  preach- 
ing, according  to  the  moderate  Calvinistic  type,  was 
much  out  of  fashion  in  the  metropolis.  Barker,  three 
years  afterwards,  laments  that  the  state  of  things  was 
much  the  same  as  it  had  been ;  that  the  disposition  to 
charity  continued  amongst  Protestant  Dissenters,  but* he 
could  not  say  much  as  to  their  faith.  He  observes,  that 
some  charged  their  fathers  with  having  put  believing  in 
the  place  of  doing  ;  he  wished  the  men  of  his  day  might 
not  put  giving  in  the  place  of  believing.  In  the  follow- 
ing year,  1744,  the  same  writer  exclaimed,  "The  Dis 
senting  interest  is  not  like  itself."  He  hardly  knew  it. 
It  used  to  be  famous  for  faith,  holiness,  and  love.  He 
had  known  the  time  when  he  had  no  doubt,  into  what- 
ever place  of  worship  he  went  amongst  Dissenters,  his 
heart  would  be  warmed  and  comforted,  and  his  ediflca- 
p*. 


174  RESULTS    OF    HIS    LABORS. 

tion  promoted.  "  ISTow,"  lie  says,  "  I  hear  prayers  and 
sermons  I  neither  relish  nor  understand.  Primitive 
truths  and  duties  are  quite  old-fashioned  things.  One's 
ears  are  so  dined  with  reason,  the  great  law  of  reason, 
the  eternal  law  of  reason,  that  it  is  enough  to  put  one 
out  of  conceit  with  the  chief  excellency  of  our  nature, 
because  it  is  idolized  and  almost  deified.  How  prone 
are  men  to  extremes !  What  a  pity  it  is,  that  when 
people  emerge  out  of  an  ancient  mistake,  they  seldom 
know  where  to  stop  !  Oh  for  the  purity  of  our  foun- 
tains, the  wisdom  and  diligence  of  our  tutors,  the  hu- 
mility, piety,  and  teachableness  of  our  youth  !" 

The  period  has  justly  been  designated  one  "  of  gath- 
ering gloom  and  spiritual  decay  ;"  yet  the  lamentations 
of  Barker  and  others,  together  with  the  appeals  of  Dr. 
Conder,  in  his  "  Serious  Address,"  occasioned  by  the 
decline  of  ministerial  piety,  published  in  17  To,  and 
other  expostulations  of  the  same  nature,  show  there  were 
men  who,  Elijah-like,  were  zealous  for  the  Lord  of 
Hosts.  Nor  should  it  be  forgotten,  that  it  is  possible 
they  were  a  little  like  Elijah  in  another  point  of  view, — 
that  they  might  draw  too  unfavorable  conclusions  in 
reference  to  the  state  of  religion  in  those  times.  Yet, 
with  every  abatement  that  charity  can  suggest,  a  large 
indictment,  sufficiently  sustained,  lies  against  the  spir- 
itual condition  of  that  age.  Historic  truth  compels  us 
to  add,  that  Arianism,  at  the  time  we  are  now  speaking 
of,  was  considerably  on  the  increase  among  the  Presby- 


RESULTS    OF    HIS    LABORS.  lTo 

terian  Dissenters.  Moral  decorum,  politeness  of  de- 
meanor, affability  of  intercourse,  and  intelligent  instruc- 
tion on  general  religious  topics,  sufficed  to  recommend 
the  minister  and  to  secure  his  influence.  The  absence 
of  evangelical  truth,  the  want  of  an  earnest,  positive 
strain  of  teaching,  paved  the  way  to  the  denial  of  Christ's 
proper  divinity,  and  with  that  the  rejection  of  the  rela- 
ted truths  of  the  atonement,  justification  by  faith,  and 
renewal  through  the  Spirit,  The  ministry,  in  many 
cases,  went  gliding  down  into  Socinianism  ;  and  Priestly, 
in  his  Memoirs,  with  singular  candor  traces  the  progress 
of  the  descent.  Nor  would  this  negative  and  lifeless 
scheme  of  Christianity  have  sufficed  to  keep  together 
the  people  who  professed  it,  or  to  have  secured  support 
for  the  ministry,  had  not  endowments,  those  pillowy 
props  of  heterodoxy  and  formalism,  preserved  the  sys- 
tem in  existence. 

To  the  churches  of  the  Congregational  order  these 
statements,  in  reference  to  the  growth  of  heterodoxy,  do 
not  at  all  apply.  There  is  no  evidence  of  their  departure 
from  the  evangelical  creed.  But  it  is  to  be  feared,  that 
though  the  Arian  and  Socinian  heresies  were  repelled 
from  the  borders  of  the  Congregational  department  in 
the  church,  the  dull,  soporific,  and  death-like  spirit 
which  those  heresies  engendered,  inflicted  its  torpedo 
touch  on  not  a  few  of  the  pastors  and  people.  Orthodoxy 
was  preserved,  but  it  was  cold.  Truth  was  watched 
over,  defended,  cherished,  but  it  was  truth  asleep. 


176  RESULTS    OF    HIS    LABORS. 

Yet  to  some  Independent  congregations  happily  this 
charge  of  lakewarmness  did  not  apply ;  neither  were  all 
the  Presbyterians  infected  with  error,  and  smitten  with 
the  palsy  which  it  brings.  The  doctrines  of  the  Puri- 
tans continued  to  be  proclaimed  from  certain  pulpits, 
both  Presbyterian  and  Independent,  with  an  unction 
and  fervor  which  would  have  been  distinguished  even 
in  earlier   and  better  days.     Darracott  and  Fawcett,* 

*  The  following  able  sketches  of  these  two  worth}-  men  are  taken 
from  the  article  in  the  "North  British  Review,"  before  noticed: — 

"  With  moderate  scholarship,  and  with  nothing  brilliant  in  his 
thoughts,  his  eager  aspect  and  glowing  countenance  gave  to  troths 
oft-told  a  freshness  equal  to  originality,  and  even  to  the  coarsest 
minds  there  was  something  irresistibly  captivating  in  the  suavity  of 
his  spirit  and  the  refinement  of  the  Christian  gentleman;  and  as  that 
gospel  which  he  preached  had  a  constant  exponent  in  an  eye  ever 
beaming,  and  in  a  frame  ever  bounding  with  active  benevolence,  it 
is  not  wonderful  that  the  common  people  heard  him  gladly.  When 
he  perceived  any  one  unusually  attentive  or  solemnized,  it  was  his 
plan  to  write  a  letter  or  pay  an  early  visit,  in  order  to  urge  the  im- 
pression home  ;  and  he  was  unwearied  in  his  efforts  to  bring  amiable 
or  awakened  hearers  to  the  grand  decision  which  divides  the  church 
from  the  world,  and  formality  from  faith.  His  paramount  zeal  for 
his  Master  was  nobly  displayed  in  his  anxiety  to  bring  to  Wellington 
preachers  more  powerful  than  himself,  and  a  visit  which  he  secured 
from  Whitfield  was  the  means  of  a  memorable  and  salutary  excite- 
ment in  that  little  town.  It  was  chiefly  among  the  poor  and  illiterate 
that  Mr.  Darracott's  ministry  prospered  ;  but  among  preachers  and 
vagrants,  foreign  mountebanks  and  clod-poles,  who  could  not  read  the 
alphabet,  as  well  as  among  farmers  and  tradesmen,  he  saw  many 
triumphs  of  the  all-transforming  gospel."  Another  like-minded  pupil 
was  Benjamin  Fawcett.  "  His  sphere  for  five-and-thirty  years  was 
Kidderminster,  and  the  charge  immortalized  by  the  name  of  Baxter. 
]\ ever  had  a  minister  a  more  kindred  successor.  JNTot  only  did  Mr. 
Fawcett  adopt  the  Baxteriau  theology,  and  attain  a  goodly  measure 
of  the  Baxteriau  importunity  and  pathos  in  preaching,  but  it  was  the 
labor  of  his  leisure  to  abridge  such  works  as  the  'faint's  Rest/  and 


RESULTS    OF    HIS    LABORS.  177 

and  afterwards  Lavington  are  names  in  the  history  of 
evangelical  dissent,  during  the  second  half  of  the  last 
century,  which  shine  with  a  brilliant  lustre. 

On  the  whole,  Doddridge's  indefatigable  and  zealous 
labors  for  reviving  spiritual  life  in  the  Dissenting  interest, 
do  not  appear  to  have  produced  immediate  results. 
The  decline  over  which  he  mourned  at  the  beginning  of 
his  ministry,  continued  at  its  close  ;  and  clouds  of  thicker 
gloom  were  gathering  in  certain  quarters.  Still  it  would 
not  be  just  to  estimate  the  immediate  effect  of  his  efforts, 
by  looking  at  them  simply  in  reference  to  his  own  de- 
nomination, or  by  confining  our  attention  to  the  recorded 
history  of  his  influence  at  large.  Of  his  efficiency  as  a 
preacher,  we  most  not  judge  by  the  number  of  his  con- 
gregation at  Northampton;  nor  of  his  efficiency  as  a 
:.   by  the  nan.  red  in  his  church-books; 

nor  of  his  efficiency  as  a  tutor,  by  the  recorded  worth 
and  usefuln  -  -  of  his  students ;  nor  of  his  efficiency  as 
an  author,  by  the  expressions  of  obligation  preserved  in 
letters.  Incorrect  also  would  it  be  to  suppose,  that  his 
immediate  success  was  confined  to  his  own  section  of 
the  church.     Looking  beyond  that  ecclesiastical  tribe, 

the  '  Call  to  the  Unconverted,'  and  :  Converse  with  God  in  Solitude.' — 
In  his  own  ministry,  Mr.  Fawcett  was  eminent  for  his  abundant  la- 
bors and  physical  energy.  In  his  hale  constitution  and  hardihood 
only  he  was  not  a  successor  of  Baxter.  Like  his  tutor,  he  used  to 
rise  every  morning  at  live,  and,  even  in  the  coldest  weather  he  never 
had  a  fire  in  his  study  ;  and  three  sermons  on  Sabbath,  with  several 
through  the  week,  seemed  only  to  have  the  effect  of  a  wholesome 
exercise." 


178  RESULTS    OF    HIS    LABORS. 

upon  whose  muster-roll  his  own  name  was  inserted,  he 
sought  to  promote  the  welfare  of  the  whole  common- 
wealth of  Israel ;  and  thus  catholic  in  conception,  his 
spiritual  exertions  were  catholic  in  their  consequences. 
They  told  upon  the  church  at  large.  Conformist  and 
Nonconformist  went  to  hear  him  preach  ;  and  in  far 
more  numerous  instances  sought  to  profit  by  his  printed 
works.  Dissenting  pastors  and  the  established  clergy 
were  both  instructed  by  his  learning,  and  stimulated  by 
his  piety. 

But  beyond  all  this,  the  manifold  labors  of  his  life 
must  have  achieved  advantages  of  which  there  are  no 
memorials ;  while  that  life  itself,  so  gentle,  holy,  cheerful, 
and  consistent,  must  have  exerted  an  influence  where  no 
traces  of  it  remain. 

We  can  weigh  the  gravity  of  the  atmosphere,  and 
measure  the  intensity  of  heat;  but  moral  influence  is  not 
a  ponderable  power,  nor  have  we  appliances  sufficiently 
refined  for  constructing  an  accurate  scale  of  its  degrees. 
Unable  precisely  to  determine  its  amount  in  given  cases, 
we  are  equally  unable  perfectly  to  distinguish  between 
its  different  kinds,  or  to  define  their  relative  proportions. 
But,  notwithstanding  our  inability  to  demonstrate  posi- 
tive facts  in  the  history  of  moral  influence,  perhaps  we 
shall  be  approximating  the  truth  in  the  case  of  Dod- 
dridge if  we  say  that,  however  much  of  spiritual  good 
sprung  from  his  labors  while  he  was  living,  they  have 
yielded  a  vast  amount  since  he  has  been  dead.     He  ap- 


RESULTS    OF    filS    LABORS.  179 

pears  to  us  to  differ  from  his  illustrious  contemporary 
Whitfield, — as  in  the  method  of  his  service,  so  in  the 
nature  and  period  of  its  efficiency  and  success.  If  in 
the  former  respect  Whitfield  was  like  the  herald  angel 
in  the  Apocalypse,  flying  through  the  midst  of  heaven, 
and  Doddridge  was  like  the  seraph  sentinel  in  the  tem- 
ple, watching  and  searching  into  the  treasures  of  the 
Ark — in  the  latter  respect  we  may  compare  that  I 
evangelist  to  the  exciting  Aurora,  which  marvellously 
illumines  while  it  lasts ;  and  that  honored  practical  di- 
vine, to  the  calm,  shining  planet  which  continues  night 
after  night  its  place  in  the  heavens,  and,  by  its  prolonged 
lustre,  surpasses  its  early  brightness.  "Whitfield's  direct 
influence  was  great  for  a  while,  but  only  for  a  while. 
His  was  the  priesthood  of  the  pulpit,  in  which  a  man 
cannot  continue  long  by  reason  of  death.  Doddridge's 
direct  influence  has  lasted  through  a  hundred  years  with 
uninterrupted  constancy  and  force.  His  is  the  priest- 
hood of  the  press,  in  which  the  mind  of  a  man  may 
continue  to  officiate  centuries  after  he  has  put  off  this 
body.  Conspicuous  is  Doddridge's  fame  in  theological 
literature,  and  large  the  circulation  of  his  books.  In 
posthumous  influence  he  is  to  be  classed  with  Owen  and 
Baxter,  Howe  and  Bunyan,  Flavel  and  Watts.  His 
thoughts  are  ever  entering  the  minds  of  posterity.  "  He 
being  dead  yet  speaketh."  His  works  are  "  household 
words."  No  expositor  is  more  frequently  cited.  His 
name  is  of  constant  occurrence  in  our  critical  Digests; 


180  RESULTS    OF   HIS    LABORS. 

Ids  authority  promotes  a  tone  of  evangelical  interpreta- 
tion. Countless  are  the  sermon-makings  to  which  he 
has  administered  guidance,  hints,  and  impulses.  Morn- 
ing and  evening,  at  many  a  fireside,  a  domestic  group 
is  by  him  aided  in  meditation,  quickened  in  prayer. 
His  hymns  are  still  vehicles  of  holy  praise,  not  only  in 
the  dissenting  meeting-house  but  in  the  parish  church ; 
for  it  is  curious  to  notice  that  the  first  of  the  four  hymns 
for  the  Holy  Communion,  found  in  the  prayer-boohs,  is 
his  composition.* 

His  "  Life  of  Gardiner"  is  in  the  barrack  library  ;  his 
"  Rise  and  Progress  of  Religion,"  on  the  cotters  shelf. 
"Wilberforce  reads  it, — it  stimulates  his  mind  to  holy 
thought,  and  contributes  to  produce  his  "  Practical 
View  ;"  then  out  of  that  there  come  the  conversion  of  a 
Legh  Richmond,  and  beautiful,  world-known  tracts,  and 
good  of  all  kinds — living,  growing,  and  multiplying,  like 
a  handful  of  corn  on  the  tops  of  the  mountains.f  Fos- 
ter's mind,  in  his  last  hour,  is  so  struck  with  Doddridge's 
sermon  on  "  The  Incapacity  of  an  Unregenerate  Soul  for 
relishing  the  Enjoyment  of  the  Heavenly  World,"  that 
he  desires  his  daughters  to  promise  him  to  read  it  every 
month,  saying  "  that  he  thinks  no  one  can  read  it  often 
without  a  salutary  effect." 

*  It  is  the  hymn  beginning  with  "  My  God,  and  is  thy  table 
spread.''     No.  171  in  the  collection. 

t  Dr.  Chalmers  was  greatly  benefitted  by  Wilberforce's  "  Practi- 
cal View."  It  is  remarkable  that,  before  he  adopted  evangelical  sen- 
te,  he  denounced  the  "Itise  and  Progress'-  from  the  pulpit. 


RESULTS    OF    HIS    LABORS.  181 

High,  too,  was  the  estimate  which  that  deep  thinker 
formed  of  the  "  Rise  and  Progress,"  and  in  his  own  char- 
acteristic style  of  illustration  he  thus  traces  its  manifold 
usefulness  : — 

"  The  immense  number  of  impressions  have  engaged 
the  attention,  lesser  or  more,  of  hundreds  of  thousands 
of  persons.  Each  of  these  copies  has  had  its  own  par- 
ticular destination  ;  and  many  of  them  have,  doubtless, 
been  attended  with  remarkable  circumstances,  though  to 
us  unknown.  If  some  of  the  more  memorable  could  be 
brought  to  our  knowledge,  in  connection  with  the  indi- 
vidual  and  still  existing  copies  which  they  befell,  what 
an  interest  would  be  attached  to  those  books  bearing 
those  memorials  of  the  past !  Imagine  by  what  a 
strange  diversity  of  persons,  as  to  disposition,  mental  en- 
dowment, conduct,  age, — in  what  a  variety  of  situa- 
tions,— under  how  many  peculiar  conjunctions  of  recur- 
rence— and  with  what  dissimilar  impressions  and  results, 
the  book  has  been  perused  or  noticed.  It  is  striking,  to 
a  degree  even  awful,  to  reflect  what  such  a  book  must 
have  done  ;  to  how  many  it  may  have  imparted  thoughts 
new  and  affecting,  and  which  nothing  could  expel ;  how 
many  it  may  have  been  made  the  means  of  leading  into 
a  happy  life  and  a  happy  end ;  how  many  it  has  arrest- 
ed, disturbed,  and  warned,  whom  it  could  not  persuade ; 
of  how  many  it  has  aggravated  the  responsibility  more 
than  influenced  the  conduct.  So  great  a  number  and 
diversity  of  accountable  beings,  unknown,  for  the  most 
Q 


182  RESULTS    OF    HIS    LABORS. 

part,  to  one  another,  scattered  here  and  there,  over  more 
than  one  country,  and  over  a  space  of  time  approaching 
to  a  century,  have  come  into  some  certain  relation  to  this 
one  book !  Among  them,  many  a  single  instance  might, 
if  the  case  could  be  fully  brought  to  our  knowledge,  ex- 
hibit a  remarkable  history  of  a  train  of  thought  and 
emotion,  of  determination  and  practical  result, — possibly 
including  singular  incidents,  opportune  and  auspicious, 
or  of  disastrous  influence.  And  who  shall  presume  to 
cast  any  thought  toward  an  assignable  duration  of  the 
effect  resulting  to  so  many  persons,  from  their  attention 
having  fallen  on  this  work,  when  that  effect  is  gone,  or 
is  to  go,  into  the  interests  of  eternity  ?  Let  the  index 
of  its  unknown  prolongation  be  combined  with  that  of 
the  number  of  beings  experiencing  it,  and  it  would  be 
no  extravagant  fantasy  to  believe,  that  the  pious  author 
may  find  it  one  of  the  amazements  of  his  future  enlarg- 
ing knowledge,  to  have  a  manifestation  in  some  wav  un- 
folding  itself  to  him,  of  even  a  minor  part  of  the  conse- 
quences of  what  he  wrote."* 

His  works  have  been  translated.  The  "  Expositor" 
has  been  rendered  into  German.  The  sermons  on  "  Re- 
generation," "  Salvation  by  Grace,"  and  the  "  Power 
and  Grace  of  Christ,"  as  well  as  a  letter  on  family  prayer, 
are  read  in  Dutch.  The  Memoirs  of  Colonel  Gardiner 
are  in  the  same  language,  and  also  in  French,  and  Ger- 

*  Foster's  Essay  on  Doddridge's  '•  Rise  and  Progress,"  p.  29. 


RESULTS    OF    HIS    LAEORS.  183 

man,  while  the  "  Rise  and  Progress"  is  circulated  in  all 
these  tongues,  and  in  Danish  besides.* 

Doddridge,  in  his  young  days,  when  writing  to  a 
friend,  expressed  the  desire  that,  if  prolonged,  his  passage 
through  this  life  might  not  be  like  that  of  "  an  arrow 
passing  through  the  air,  which  leaves  no  trace  or  impres- 
sion behind  it."  Though  his  career  was  cut  short  when 
it  had  just  passed  the  meridian,  he  was  spared  long 
enough  to  accomplish  some  of  the  noblest  purposes  of 
existence.  His  wide-spread  influence,  and  the  conspicu- 
ous fame  to  which  we  now  do  honor,  prove  that  He  who 
says  "  All  souls  are  mine"  granted  to  Doddridge  abun- 
dantly the  fulfilment  of  his  early  wish. 


Doddridge  served  his  own  generation  according  to 
the  will  of  God.  God  gave  him  something  to  do,  and 
he  did  it,  because,  as  we  learn  from  what  we  can  see  of 
his  inward  spiritual  life,  God,  by  his  grace,  had  showed 
him  something  that  he  should  be,  and  he  was  it.  God 
also  calls  each  one  of  us  to  cultivate  a  certain  character, 
and  to  fill  a  certain  office.  By  His  Word  he  says — 
This  must  be  your  spirit ;  by  His  Providence  he  says — 
That  must  be  your  mission.  In  enforcing  this  lesson, 
there  are  two  observations  suo-o-ested  :  the  one  relating  to 


oo 


*  In  the  correspondence  of  Mrs.  Doddridge  with  Mr.  Orton  there 
are  references  to  a  project  by  a  Swiss  gentleman,  for  translating  her 
husband's  hymns  into  French. 


184  RESULTS    OF    HIS    LABORS. 

the  resemblance,  the  other  to  the  difference,  between  the 
days  of  Doddridge  and  our  own. 

1.  In  addition  to  the  broad  features  which  stamp  a 
general  resemblance  on  all  the  ages  of  the  world,  we  can 
hardly  fail  to  recognize  a  notable  coincidence  between 
the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century  and  the  middle 
of  the  eighteenth,  in  this  respect — that,  as  now  on  the 
one  side  Papistry  give  signs  of  revival  from  the  opera- 
tion of  ecclesiastical  causes,  so  then  it  gave  signs  of  re- 
vival from  the  operation  of  political  causes — the  intrigues 
and  projects  of  the  Jacobite  party  being  to  it  then  what 
the  activity  and  Jesuitism  of  the  Tractarian  party  are  to 
it  now.  And  further,  as  on  the  other  side,  scepticism 
now  largely  imbues  our  current  literature,  leading  to 
doubts  about  the  historical  character  and  objective  na- 
ture of  Christianity,  and  reducing  it  in  the  book  to  a 
myth,  and  in  the  mind  to  an  idea;  then  it  was  de- 
veloped in  the  cognate  form  of  denying  the  Divinity  of 
Christ,  or  denying  the  divinity  of  the  gospel.  Dod- 
dridge laid  hold  on  both  the  serpents ;  and  while,  by 
ever  preaching  up  the  truth,  he  sought  to  preach  down 
these  fatal  errors,  he  failed  not  distinctly  to  expose 
each — the  first  in  a  volume  of  Lectures,  the  MS.  of 
which  I  now  hold  in  my  hand — the  second  in  his  mas- 
terly Letters  in  answer  to  a  pamphlet  entitled,  "Christi- 
anity not  founded  on  Argument."  We  almost  think 
the  day  will  come  when  the  antagonism  of  superstition 
and  infidelity  will  lead  to  the  destruction  of  both,  accom- 


RESULTS     OF     HIS     LABORS.  185 

plishing  for  principles  what  Achilles  wished  in  reference 
to  persons,  when,  looking  out  on  the  battle  of  the  ships, 
he  desired  that  Trojans  and  Greeks  might  destroy  one 
another,  and  leave  the  field  open  for  better  men.  But 
in  the  meantime  we  must  do  battle  with  both,  and  that 
not  for  mere  victory,  much  less  with  any  vindictiveness, 
but  for  the  well-being  of  souls,  and  in  the  spirit  of  love. 
Instead  of  carrying  the  temper  of  controversialism  into 
all  our  labors,  we  are  to  carry  the  meek  temper  of 
charity  into  all  our  controversies,  as  Doddridge  did,  say- 
ing to  the  erroneous — not  "  L  will  crush  thee,  thou 
fiend  !" — but  "  I  will  strive  to  save  thee,  my  friend." 

2.  In  relation  to  the  difference  between  the  times  in 
which  Doddridge  lived  and  those  in  which  Providence 
has  cast  our  lot,  it  is  almost  superfluous  to  observe  that 
society,  civilization,  and  literature  have  undergone  chan- 
ges which  require  corresponding  modifications  of  reli- 
gious effort.  The  wants  of  this  ao-e  are  not  to  be  met, 
and  the  minds  of  men  now  are  not  to  be  moved  exactly 
after  the  same  method  as  was  fitting  a  century  ago. 
Spiritual  truth  is  the  same — the  evidences  of  Christi- 
anity are  the  same — the  arguments  for  repelling  error, 
and  superstition,  and  priestcraft,  the  same  ;  but  adapta- 
tion to  the  altered  habits  of  our  countrymen,  and  to  the 
now  prevalent  forms  of  thought  and  expression,  must  be 
attempted  by  all  who  aim  at  usefulness,  and  must  be  at- 
tained before  they  can  insure  success.  Indeed,  to  adapt 
ourselves  to  the  age  in  which  we  live,  is  but  to  walk  in 
Q* 


186  RESULTS    OF    HIS    LABORS. 

the  footsteps  of  the  illustrious  example  before  us.  But 
we  would  especially  glance  at  the  alteration,  or  rather 
the  advance,  which  has  taken  place  in  the  position  of 
Nonconformists.  The  old  Presbyterian  body  has  been 
long  on  the  decline.  It  has  been  so  ever  since  the  time 
when  it  became  imbued  with  Socinian  sentiments.  Con- 
gregationalists  have  been  increasing.  The  Independents, 
who,  a  hundred  years  ago,  perhaps,  could  not  count 
more  than  500  churches,  now  number  nearly  2000  ; 
while  the  Baptists,  in  proportion,  have  made  more  rapid 
growth,  and  the  Methodists,  in  their  several  branches 
have,  with  reference  to  the  multiplication  of  members, 
surpassed  the  sister  sects.*  Even  allowing  for  the  in- 
crease of  population,  still  the  proportion  of  orthodox 
Dissenters  to  the  attendants  on  the  parish  church  is 
much  larger  now  than  ever.  Nor  is  there  any  compari- 
son between  the  contented  stationariness  of  most  Dissent- 
ing communities  then,  and  the  efforts  at  extension  in 
the  way  of  public  instruction  and  appeal  on  the  great 
subject  of  spiritual  religion  which  they  now  employ. 
Sabbath  schools,  Home  Missions,  Christian  Instruction 
Societies,  and  Chapel-Building  Associations,  are  all  the 
outgrowth  of  a  zeal  which  has  blessedly  sprung  up  since 
Doddridge  reached  his  home  in  Leaven.  The  almost 
universal  acknowledgment  in  our  churches,  of  the  obliga- 

*  Paedo-Baptist  churches,  including  Presbyterian  and  Independent, 
were  estimated,  in  1773,  at  7-29,  and  the  Anti-Paedo-Baptists  at  391, 
making  together  1120.  These,  with  the  Quakers  and  Methodists,  in- 
cluded almost  all  the  Protestant  Dissenting  communities.     Now,  ac- 


RESULTS    OF    HIS    LABORS. 


IS' 


tion  to  make  aggressive  movements  on  the  world  around, 
is  of  itself  a  great  point  gained.  A  fulcrum  is  it  on 
-which  main*  a  lever  may  be  laid,  to  upheave  society  into 
a  better  position.  The  organization  of  Christian  la- 
bor— the  gathering  of  the  members  of  our  ecclesiastical 
commonwealth  into  companies  of  spiritual  workmen — 
the  establishment  of  schemes  whereby  some  give,  and 
some  toil,  and  numbers  do  both, — are  signs  of  decided 
improvement.     They  show  a  great  advance  upon  the  ex- 


cording  to  the  statistics  furnished  to  a  Committee  of  the  House  of 
Commons,  this  year,  hy  Mr.  E.  Baines,  they  are  as  follows  : — 


DENOMINATIONS. 


Number  of 
Preaching  Sta- 
tions in  villages 
having  either 
School-rooms 
or  Hired  Rooms. 


Number  of 
Chapels. 


Wesleyan 

Independent : 

England 1.965 

Wales 607 


Baptist 

Primitive  Methodist 

Calvinistic  Methodist 

Bihle  Christian 

Society  of  Friends 

Wesleyan  Methodist  Association 

Methodist  New  Connection 

Unitarian 

Orthodox  Presbyterian  Church  of 

Scotland 12 

Free  Church  ditto 77 

United  Presbyterian 61 


Lady  Huntingdon's. 


1,101 


1.000 

1,384 

3,-393 

110 


186 
100 


2.572 
1,9-13 
1.662 
778 
415 
330 
322 
281 
260 


150 
30 


Totals . 


13,193 


188  RESULTS    OF    HIS    LABORS. 

ertions  of  a  few  rare,  isolated  spirits,  who  a  century  since 
sought  to  do  something  towards  the  spiritual  regenera- 
tion of  their  country.  The  combination  of  many  Con- 
gregational churches  in  the  form  of  a  Union  for  England 
and  Wales — a  combination  which,  while  it  hinds  them 
together  by  intercourse,  sympathy,  mutual  counsel,  and 
common  operation,  does  not  m  the  slightest  degree 
trench  on  their  much-prized  independency, — is  also  a 
fact  which  to  many  will  appear  a  subject  of  congratula- 
tion and  a  ground  of  hope.  A  rudimentary  framework 
is  it,  which  by  wise  heads,  and  honest,  zealous,  loving 
hearts,  might  be  worked  up  into  a  system  of  fraternal 
action  and  aid,  whereby  the  strong  might  help  the 
weak — the  rich  might  help  the  poor — the  city  might 
help  the  village — and  all  might  mutually  help  to  fulfil 
their  proper  and  much-needed  mission  to  the  whole  em- 
pire, domestic  and  colonial,  without  the  exercise  or  the 
assumption  of  any  central  control  over  the  internal  affairs 
of  Christian  churches — without,  in  short,  the  least  viola- 
tion of  the  principles  of  scriptural  Congregationalism. 

To  ascertain  precisely  the  spiritual  status  of  a  church 
at  any  given  period,  and  to  determine  its  exact  relation 
to  a  state  of  things  existing  at  an  earlier  or  a  later  age, 
is  always  difficult,  and  sometimes  impossible.  But  per- 
haps it  is  an  approximation  to  the  truth  to  say,  that 
there  is  a  wider  surface  of  scriptural  piety  in  Congrega- 
tional churches  now  than  there  was  a  hundred  years 


RESULTS    OF    HIS    LABORS.  189 

since,*  combined  certainly  with  a  larger  amount  of 
general  intelligence.  Xor  need  we  fear  to  say  that,  if 
the  education  of  the  ministry  amongst  us,  in  comparison 
with  the  scholarship  of  the  age,  be  not  higher,  except  in 
a  few  instances,  than  it  was  then,  yet  much  more  of 
spiritual  fervor  is  generally  diffused,  and  we  have  a 
larger  number  of  energetic,  influential  minds.  Intellec- 
tual temptations  hem  round  the  thoughtful  and  imagi- 
native of  the  ministerial  class,  even  as  temptations,  gen- 
erally the  same,  but  specifically  different,  imperilled  the 
studious  in  the  days  of  Doddridge  ;  but  we  would  hope 
that  there  is  a  sound  and  manly  spirit  of  positive  Chris- 
tian faith  amongst  us,  that  will  suffice  to  repel  or  throw 
off  the  evils  of  the  present  rationalistic  tendencies  in  the 
theological  world.  These  facts,  united,  are  instructive 
and  animating  to  all  evangelical  Nonconformists — some 
of  them  to  us  in  particular.  They  suggest  certain  modes 
of  usefulness  we  should  adopt ;  they  point  to  forms  of 
associations  of  which  we  may  take  advantage  ;  while, 
by  indicating  growth  and  increasing  vigor,  they  remind 
us  of  augmented  responsibility,  and  at  the  same  time 
inspire  us  with  courage  and  hope. 

In  conclusion,  to  serve  succeeding  generations  was 
Doddridge's  hiah.  distinction ;  but  the  privilege  of  doin^1 
so  is  awarded  to  but  few.  To  shine  as  lights  whose 
rays  shall  dart  through  centuries — to  stand  as  examples, 

"  Whether  that  could  be  Fait]  of  us,  in  comparison  with  the 
churches  of  the  earlier  Nonconformists,  is  another  question. 


190  RESULTS    OF    HIS    LABORS. 

to  guide  remote  generations — to  speak  as  oracles,  to 
whose  voice  unborn  millions  will  listen  with  rever- 
ence— is  a  pre-eminent  honor  reserved  by  the  Father  of 
Spirits  for  rarely-gifted  minds  ;  but  to  serve  one's  own 
generation — God  makes  the  faculty  as  universal  as  the 
function.  And  if  our  work,  though  humble,  be  holy — ■ 
if  what  we  do  be  the  expression  of  what  we  are — if  our 
activity  be  the  fruit  of  the  Spirit  of  Christ  in  us — then, 
though  no  memorial  of  us  should  remain,  and  we  die 
in  obscurity,  and  our  names  sink  into  silence,  He,  the 
only  one  whose  praise  we  should  supremely  covet,  will, 
beyond  all  doubt,  say  to  us  at  last,  "  Because  thou  hast 
been  precious  in  my  sight,  thou  hast  been  honorable, 
and  I  have  loved  thee." 


POSTSCRIPT 


THE     THREE     COLLEGE 


(Eovoavb. 

The  academy,  which  for  twenty  years  had  been  so 
prosperously  conducted  at  Northampton,  was,  after  Dr. 
Doddridge's  death,  removed  to  Daventiy,  where  Caleb 
Asli worth,  whom  he  had  nominated  as  his  successor, 
lived  in  the  affections,  and  labored  for  the  welfare  of  his 
flock.  The  church  had  been  originally  gathered  in  the 
days  of  the  Puritans,  under  rather  remarkable  circum- 
stances ;  and  as  the  institution  whose  history  we  propose 
to  continue,  became  connected  for  a  while  with  the 
Daventry  congregation,  the  story  of  the  manner  in 
which  it  was  commenced,  as  Dr.  Ashworth  used  to  re- 
late it,  may  here  be  appropriately  introduced.  When 
Charles  II.  was  on  the  throne,  and  spiritual  religion  was 
much  discouraged,  it  happened  that  one  day  a  minister, 
rather  advanced  in  life,  was  on  his  way  to  London,  and 
put  up  for  the  night  at  the  town  of  Daventry,  under  the 


192  THE    THREE    COLLEGES. 

hospitable  roof  of  the  old  Swan  inn.  The  good  man 
was  taken  ill,  and  detained  at  the  place  for  more  than  a 
week,  during  which  period  Lindsay  the  host,  and  all  his 
family,  paid  him  the  kindest  attention,  and  completely 
won  his  heart.  The  house  was  conducted  with  a  regu- 
larity which  was  singularly  remarkable  in  those  times, 
when  the  hostelries  of  England  were  almost  all  scenes 
of  unrestricted  indulgence  and  boisterous  merriment. 
The  traveller,  being  restored  to  health,  summoned  into 
his  chamber  the  kind-hearted  people  of  the  inn,  the 
night  before  he  resumed  his  journey,  and  particularly 
thanked  them  all  for  their  great  civility  and  kindness. 
But  after  expressing  this,  as  well  as  his  satisfaction  with 
the  order  established  in  the  house,  he  added  : — "  Some- 
thing leads  me  to  suspect  there  is  not  the  fear  of  God 
among  you,  and  it  grieves  me  to  see  such  honest  civility, 
economy,  and  decency, — and  yet  religion  is  wanting, 
the  one  thing  needful."  So,  he  entered  into  close  and 
faithful  conversation  on  the  importance  of  inward  piety, 
and  closed  the  interview  by  telling  them  that  he  had 
in  his  saddle-bags  a  little  book,  lately  printed,  which  he 
would  give  them,  earnestly  requesting  that  they  would 
read  it  with  attention  and  care.  He  then  made  them  a 
present  of  Baxter's  "  Poor  Man's  Family  Book,"  and 
went  on  his  way.  He  did  not  tell  them  who  he  was, 
nor  did  they  ever  fully  ascertain  his  name ;  but  the  sus- 
picion on  their  minds,  afterwards,  was  very  strong,  that 
the  stranger  was  no  other  than  Richard  Baxter  himself; 


THE    THREE    COLLEGES.  193 

and  that  indeed  they  had  entertained  an  angel  unawares. 
The  book  was  valued  and  read,  and  other  works  of  the 
great  and  earnest-souled  Puritan  were  procured  and 
studied  ;  the  result  of  which  was,  that  the  innkeeper 
and  some  of  his  children  became  decided  Christians. 
Weary  of  the  mode  of  life  he  had  pursued,  and  having 
acquired  a  competence,  Mr.  Lindsay  retired  to  a  house  in 
the  middle  of  the  High  Street,  having  a  small  close  be- 
hind it,  at  the  extremity  of  which,  upon  the  back  lane 
opposite  the  inlands,  there  stood  some  outbuildings. 
These  premises,  in  the  fulness  of  his  zeal,  he  forthwith 
converted  into  a  meeting-house.  His  neighbors  came,  a 
congregation  was  gathered,  and  a  pastor  chosen.  It 
was  the  intention  of  the  owner  to  put  the  building  in 
trust,  but  the  thing  was  neglected,  and  the  good  people 
had  in  a  few  years  to  purchase  for  themselves  the  hum- 
ble structure.  There  they  continued  to  worship  till 
1722,  when  Mr.  Mattock,  then  the  minister  of  Daventry, 
built  another  place. 

Dr.  Ashworth,  who  presided  over  this  interesting 
church,  had  been  a  favorite  pupil  with  Doddridge,  and 
the  high  opinion  which  the  latter  entertained  of  the 
former  is  apparent,  from  his  strongly  expressed  wish 
that  Ashworth  should  succeed  him.  But  little  can  be 
gathered  respecting  his  character,  beyond  the  impression 
that  he  was  a  man  of  good  natural  talents,  of  considera- 
ble learning,  of  orthodox  opinions,  and  of  unquestioned 
piety.  His  career  was  not  much  longer  than  that  of 
R 


194  THE    THREE    COLLEGES. 

his  illustrious  predecessor,  for  lie  died  in  l'llo,  in  his 
fifty-fifth  year  :*  a  premature  termination  of  life,  it  is 
supposed,  occasioned  by  a  too  intense  application  to 
study,  and  the  other  duties  of  his  double  office.  Mr. 
Toller,  of  Kettering,  was  a  student  under  Dr.  Ash  worth, 
and  from  the  following  passage  in  Mr.  Hall's  Life  of  that 
distinguished  minister  of  Christ,  it  would  appear  that  the 
religious  state  of  the  seminary  was  unsatisfactory  in  the 
extreme  : — "  At  the  time  of  Mr.  Toller's  admission  into 
the  Daventry  academy,  the  literary  reputation  of  that 
seminary  was  higher  than  that  of  any  among  the  Dis- 
senters ;  but,  partly  owing  to  a  laxness  in  the  terms  of 
admission,  and  partly  to  the  admixture  of  lay  and 
divinity  students,  combined  with  the  mode  in  which 
theology  was  taught,  erroneous  principles  prevailed 
much,  and  the  majority  of  such  as  were  educated  there 
became  more  distinguished  for  their  learning  than  for 
the  fervor  of  their  piety  and  the  purity  of  their  doctrine. 
The  celebrated  Priestly  speaks  of  the  state  of  the  acad- 
emy, while  he  resided  there,  with  great  complacency ; 
nothing,  he  assures  us,  could  be  more  favorable  to  the 
progress  of  free  inquiry,  since  both  the  tutors  and  the 
students  were  about  equally  divided  between  the  ortho- 
dox and  Arian  systems."     Mr.  Hall  goes  on  to  speak  of 

*  There  is  a  funei'al  sermon  for  him  hy  Mr.  Palmer,  hut  by  Ash- 
worth's  request  scarcely  anything  is  said  of  a  personal  nature.  I 
have  seen  two  sermons  by  Dr.  Ashworth  :  the  one  on  the  death  of 
Dr.  Watts,  the  other  on  the  death  of  Rev.  S.  Clark.  The  doctrinal 
sentiments  introduced  are  of  an  evangelical  character. 


THE    THREE    COLLEGES.  195 

the  theological  professor  as  priding  himself  on  the  steady- 
impartiality  with  which  he  held  the  balance  betwixt 
contending  opinions,  seldom  or  never  interposing  his 
own,  still  less  betraying  the  slightest  emotion  of  antipa- 
thy to  error  or  predilection  to  truth.  Priestly,  however, 
states  that  Dr.  Ashworth  was  earnestly  desirous  to  make 
his  pupils  as  orthodox  as  possible.  He  also  says,  "Our 
tutors  were  of  different  opinions  ;  Dr.  Ashworth,  taking 
the  orthodox  side  of  every  question,  and  Mr.  Clark,  the 
sub-tutor,  that  of  heresy."  Certainly,  the  preposterous 
notions  about  moderation  and  candor  which  then  pre- 
vailed, must  have  banefully  operated  at  Daventry,  seeing 
that  they  permitted  the  continuance  of  an  instructor  who 
openly  avowed  unorthodox  opinions.  As  to  the  extent 
of  theological  error  produced  by  this  state  of  things,  Dr. 
Priestly  informs  us,  where  he  says,  "  Notwithstanding 
the  great  freedom  of  our  debates,  the  extreme  of  heresy 
among  us  was  Arianism,  and  all  of  us,  I  believe,  left  the 
academy  wTith  a  belief  more  or  less  qualified  of  the  doc- 
trine of  the  atonement." 

Dr.  Ashworth  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  Thomas 
Robins,  and  the  following  notice  of  this  individual  by 
Mr.  Hall,  contains  the  chief  information  we  have  respect- 
ing his  character*  "  Of  Mr.  Robins,  Mr.  Toller  was 
often  heard  to  say,  that  he  considered  him  as  the  wisest 
and  best  man  he  ever  knew.     Among  many  other  men- 

*  Mr.  Hall  fell  into  an  error  in  speaking  of  Mr.  Robins  as  Dr. 
Ashworth's  assistant. 


196  THE    THREE    COLLEGES. 

tal  endowments,  he  was  remarkable  for  delicacy  of  taste 
and  elegance  of  diction ;  and  perhaps  my  reader  will 
excuse  my  observing,  that  the  first  perception  of  these 
qualities  which  the  writer  of  these  lines  remembers  to 
have  possessed,  arose  from  hearing  him  preach  at 
Northampton  on  a  public  occasion.  It  is  to  be  la- 
mented that  he  has  left  none  of  those  productions  behind 
him,  which  a  correct  and  beautiful  imagination,  em- 
bodied in  language  of  the  most  classic  purity,  rendered 
so  impressive  and  delightful.  The  qualities  of  his  heart 
corresponded  with  those  of  his  genius ;  and  though  long 
before  his  death,  his  bodily  infirmities  obliged  him  to 
relinquish  a  commanding  station  and  retire  into  obscu- 
rity, he  retained  to  the  last  such  an  ascendency  over  the 
minds  of  his  former  pupils,  and  such  an  interest  in  their 
affections,  as  nothing  but  worth  of  the  highest  order  can 
command." 

On  the  retirement  of  Mr.  Kobins,  the  Rev.  Thomas 
Belsham,  who  had  been  his  assistant,  succeeded  as  theo- 
logical tutor ;  but  after  being  educated  in  Calvinistic 
sentiments,  and  having  early  professed  them,  he  at  length 
forsook  the  faith  of  his  fathers,  and  openly  avowed  his 
adoption  of  Socinianism.  Whatever  mistaken  candor, 
laxity  of  sentiment,  or  Arian  errors,  had  been  manifested 
by  the  previous  instructors  of  the  young  men  at  Daven- 
try,  no  one  had  ever  proceeded  as  far  as  Mr.  Belsham ; 
and  this  gentleman,  feeling  that  the  change  which  had 


THE    THREE    COLLEGES.  197 

taken  place  in  his  views  rendered  his  position  in  that 
academy  untenable,  honorably  relinquished  his  office. 

The  care  of  the  pupils  was  next  transferred  to  the 
Rev.  John  Horsey  of  Northampton,  to  which  place  the 
institution  was  restored.  As  the  object  in  this  brief 
sketch  is  not  to  furnish  lives  of  the  tutors,  but  simply  to 
trace  the  progress  of  the  academy  itself,  noticing  the 
characters  of  the  instructors  only  to  illustrate  their  influ- 
ence on  the  institution,  it  will  be  sufficient  to  observe, 
that  the  minister  now  mentioned  was  remarkable,  to  an 
astonishing  degree,  for  concealing  his  sentiments  on 
doctrinal  points.  A  writer  in  the  "  Monthly  Reposi- 
tory" strangely  commends  him  for  his  judicious  and 
exemplary  mode  of  instruction,  inasmuch  as  he  was  so 
anxious  not  to  give  an  undue  bias  to  his  youthfnl  audi- 
tors, that  it  was  very  difficult  to  ascertain  in  the  lecture- 
room  his  own  precise  views  on  the  more  controverted 
subjects."  After  what  has  been  said  on  this  method  of 
instruction  in  a  former  part  of  this  volume,  nothing  need 
be  added  but  to  record  the  fact  that  it  proved,  as  might 
be  expected,  most  pernicious  to  the  welfare  of  the  rising 

*  I  have  now  before  me  several  letters  of  Mr.  Horsey  to  the  trus- 
tees of  Mrs.  Jackson's  charity.  What  they  contain  beyond  business 
topics  illustrates  the  cautious  habits  of  this  peculiar  man.  He  ex- 
presses his  desire  that  whatever  evils  existed  in  connection  with  the 
academy  should  be  remedied,  and  justly  alludes  to  the  impropriety 
of  young  men  being  sent  to  him  as  students  for  the  ministry  at  the  age 
of  sixteen.  He  la.ys  some  blame  on  the  times  in  which  he  lived; 
"  The  world,"  he  says,  "has  never  been  in  a  state  anything  like  the 
present  since  we  came  into  it."— Letter,  dated  October,  1797. 


193  THE    THREE    COLLEGES. 

ministry.  It  is  quite  clear  that  Mr.  Horsey  cannot  be 
charged  with  teaching  Socinian  sentiments,  nor  would 
he  ever  permit  himself  to  be  called  an  Unitarian. 
Whatever  dubiousness  or  vacillation  he  might  have  ex- 
perienced in  the  course  of  his  mental  history,  it  is  pleas- 
ing to  be  able  to  state  that,  shortly  before  his  death,  he 
expressed  the  following  decidedly  evangelical  senti- 
ment : — "  Whenever  the  summons  shall  arrive  to  call 
me  from  time  to  eternity,  I  wish  to  leave  the  world  in 
the  character  of  a  penitent  believer,  lying  at  the  foot  of 
the  cross,  imploring  Divine  mercy  through  the  merit 
and  mediation  of  Christ,  the  great  Redeemer  and  Sa- 
viour of  the  lost." 

Though  the  academic  vessel  which  Doddridge  had 
once  steered  had  never  actually  struck  on  the  rocks  of 
Socinianism,  yet  certainly  it  had  come  in  sight  of  them, 
and  had  for  some  considerable  period  been  sadly  tossed 
by  conflicting  currents,  because  left  to  a  pilotage  wanting 
in  a  fixed  aim  and  steady  hand.  It  was  therefore  high 
time  for  the  parties  on  whom  the  seminary  was  mainly 
dependent  for  support,*  if  they  would  rescue  those  com- 
mitted to  their  care  from  the  great  perils  that  surrounded 
them,  to  introduce  some  very  decided  change.  This 
they  did  in  the  year  1789.  To  understand  the  nature 
of  that  change,  we  must  go  back  to  an  early  period,  and 
briefly  advert  to  the  history  of  the  trust  by  which  the 

*  It  may  be  mentioned  that  students  were  sent  to  Daventry  and 
Northampton  by  the  trustees  of  Mrs.  Jackson. 


THE    THREE    COLLEGES.  199 

Da  vent  it  and  Northampton  academy  had  been  chiefly 
maintained. 

References  have  been  made  in  an  early  portion  of  this 
work  to  Mr.  Coward.  He  was  a  London  merchant, 
who,  like  many  of  his  honored  class,  reaped  a  goodly 
fortune.  His  residence  was  in  the  quiet  village  of  Wal- 
thamstow, — in  his  time  a  famous  place  of  resort  for  Dis- 
senters of  the  Presbyterian  and  Cono-reo-ational  order,  as 
Edmonton  is  for  Quakers  at  this  day.*  There  he  had 
a  comfortable  mansion  and  extensive  grounds,  where  he 
employed  his  genius  in  digging  canals,  erecting  stately 
edifices,  and  planting  gardens ;  while,  to  adorn  the  rest 
of  his  works,  as  well  as  to  display  his  patriotism  and 
love  of  liberty,  he  bought  and  set  up  a  statue  of  William 
III.  on  horseback.  He  was  amazingly  punctual  in  his 
habits,  and,  enacting  in  his  establishment  a  sort  of  cur- 
few law,  he  zealously  guarded  his  house  against  the  ad- 
mission of  visitors  after  eight  o'clock ;  nor  would  he  al- 
low a  dinner  guest  to  enter  if  he  came  after  the  hour  ap- 
pointed for  the  meal.  He  had  a  good  many  odd  ways, 
and  seems  to  have  been  always  rather  obstinate,  and 
sometimes  a  little  testy,  for  which  perhaps  "  the  cramp 
in  his  legs"  might  have  been  pleaded  in  excuse.  But 
along  with  much  that  was  eccentric  and  infirm,  he  pos- 
sessed a  most  liberal  disposition,  and  devoted  a  large 

*  At  the  Presbyterian  meeting-house,  in  Hugh  Farmer's  time,  tra- 
dition says  thirty -six  carriages  might  be  seen  at  the  door, — a  majority 
of  one  over  the  number  which,  it  is  said,  at  the  same  period  swept  up 
to  the  Clapham  place  of  worship. 


200  THE    THREE    COLLEGES. 

portion  of  his  property  to  charitable  objects, — especially 
to  the  promotion  of  the  interests  of  orthodox  and  evan- 
gelical religion.  He  was  a  patron  of  the  Bury  Street 
Lecture,  and  was  ever  anxious  to  support  the  "  preach- 
ing of  Christ  direct ;"  and  with  a  view  to  the  effective 
and  permanent  progress  of  Nonconformist  piety,  he 
wisely  directed  his  thoughts  to  the  education  of  young 
men  for  the  ministry.  He  thought  of  founding  an 
academy  at  Walthamstow,  and  of  making  Dr.  Dod- 
dridge the  tutor;  but  the  scheme  fell  through,  and  he 
never  established  an  academy  at  all.  He,  however,  con- 
tinued through  life  to  provide  for  young  men  studying 
for  the  ministry,  sending  some  to  Northampton,  and 
others  to  Dr.  Taylor,  at  Deptford,  and  to  Mr.  Eames. 
He  died  in  1*738,  and  by  his  will  created  a  trust  for 
educating  candidates  who  sought  to  enter  the  ministry 
among  Independents,  and  also  for  the  bestowment  of 
other  benefactions,  committing  the  administration  of  the 
trust  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  Watts,  Dr.  Guyse,  Nathaniel  Neal, 
and  his  son,  Mr.  Neal,  a  layman.  They  and  their  suc- 
cessors, in  carrying  out  Mr.  Coward's  design,  continued 
to  send  youths  to  the  seminary  conducted  by  Doddridge. 
Feeling  their  own  responsibility,  they  made  inquiries, 
and  received  reports,  respecting  the  conduct  and  pro- 
gress of  their  pupils ;  and  occasionally  they  went  down 
to  Northampton  to  examine  them,  the  Doctor,  as  exist- 
ing letters  to  his  wife  fully  testify,  taking  care  to  afford 
his  official  guests  most  hospitable  entertainment,  and  to 


THE    THREE    COLLEGES.  201 

make  their  visit  an  enviably  pleasant  one.  Upon  the 
removal  of  the  Institution  to  Daventry,  the  Coward 
trustees  sent  students  there,  feeling  the  same  responsi- 
bility and  maintaining  the  same  supervision  as  before. 
So  things  went  on,  till  Mr.  Belsham's  resignation,  when 
the  trustees  requested  Mr.  Horsey  to  be  the  tutor.  The 
unsatisfactory  condition  of  the  seminary  continuing  after 
its  return  to  Northampton,  they  at  length  determined  to 
withdraw  their  support  from  it  altogether,  and  conse- 
quently it  was  broken  up.  The  new  arrangements  they 
adopted,  will  be  noticed  presently. 

In  the  mean  time  it  is  proper  to  observe,  that  the 
trustees  continued,  as  Mr.  Coward  had  done,  to  send 
students  to  other  seminaries.  Immediately  after  his 
death,  there  were  young  men  supported  by  them  at  Dr. 
Taylor's,  and  at  the  academy  conducted  by  Mr.  Eames 
and  Mr.  Densham.  Their  connection  with  Dr.  Taylor 
lasted  a  very  short  time,  but  they  went  on  patronizing 
the  other  tutors  just  mentioned;  and  when,  in  1744, 
Mr.  Eames  died,  they  appointed  Dr.  Jennings  as  his 
successor.  After  his  decease,  in  1762,  Dr.  Samuel  Mor- 
ton Savage  became  the  Divinity  Tutor,  with  whom  were 
associated,  as  instructors  in  other  branches  of  learning, 
the  Rev.  Drs.  Kippis  and  Rees.  During  Jennings'  life 
the  students  resided  in  private  families,  and  attended 
daily  at  a  house  in  Wellclose  Square,  where  the  library 
was  kept  and  the  lectures  were  delivered.  That  place 
was  left  in  1762.  when  a  house  was  taken  at  Hoxton  for 


202  THE    THREE    COLLEGES. 

Dr.  Savage,  and  the  students  were  lodged  under  his 
roof.  The  religious  history  of  this  institution  resembled 
that  of  the  other.  Heterodoxy  had  crept  in  under  the 
cover  of  candor  and  moderation.  The  tutors  differed  in 
sentiment ;  the  students  halted  between  two  opinions ; 
the  trustees  were  dissatisfied.  First  Dr.  Kippis  retired, 
in  1*784  ;  in  the  following  year  both  his  colleagues  imi- 
tated his  example,  and  the  seminary  was  dissolved. 
Yet  the  decline  of  these  seminaries  into  error — so  far  as 
they  did  decline — was  not  for  want  of  the  specific  state- 
ment of  a  creed ;  for  Mr.  Coward  fixed  as  his  standard, — 
and  directed  that  his  students  should  be  instructed  in  its 
doctrines, — the  Westminster  confession.  The  history 
just  given  shows  the  inefficiency  of  such  means  to  pre- 
serve orthodoxy,  where  a  tone  of  evangelical  sentiment, 
and  zealous,  earnest,  spiritual  piety  are  wanting.  Mere 
verbal  creeds,  however  exalted  and  defended,  whether 
only  tacitly  admitted  or  formally  subscribed,  have  ever 
proved  feeble  barriers  against  the  aggression  of  error. 
Ecclesiastical  history  is  full  of  melancholy  examples  of 
the  ingenious  way  in  which  men  have  contrived  to  evade 
their  meaning  and  frustrate  their  design. 

When,  fourteen  years  after  the  cessation  of  the  acad- 
emy at  Hoxton,  it  was  found  necessary  to  discontinue 
the  support  of  Mr.  Horsey's  academy,  the  trustees  de- 
termined on  taking  premises  sufficiently  large  for  the 
accommodation  of  all  their  students,  and  on  appointing 
tutors  who  should  wholly  devote  themselves  to  their 


THE    THREE    COLLEGES.  203 

care.  By  such  means  the  institution  came  entirely 
under  the  control  of  the  trustees,  who  thereby  sought 
the  better  to  fulfil  the  purposes  of  Mr.  Coward.  A  con- 
venient house  was  sought ;  and  it  affords  a  remarkable 
illustration  of  the  insecurity  of  travelling  at  that  time,  to 
notice,  among  the  minutes,  that  in  a  journey  which  the 
gentlemen  took  to  Oakingham,  to  see  an  estate  there 
which  was  thought  suitable,  they  were  all,  just  before 
they  entered  the  town,  robbed  by  highwaymen,  at  noon- 
day, of  their  money  and  watches.  This  was  as  late  as 
1799.  In  that  year  Yv'ymondley  House,  near  Hitchin, 
was  taken,  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Parry  and  Rev.  H.  F. 
Burder  appointed  tutors.  A  more  prosperous  era 
opened  with  the  commencement  of  the  Wymondley 
Academy.  It  continued  for  thirty-three  years  progres- 
sively to  nourish  under  the  successive  presidency  of  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Parry  and  Mr.  Morell,  supplying  the  Congre- 
gational churches  with  men  of  ability  and  learning,  and 
of  unquestionable  evangelical  sentiments.  It  was  then 
removed  to  Torrington  Square,  London,  under  the  desig- 
nation of  Coward  College,  and  the  students  were  sent  to 
University  College,  for  instruction  in  secular  learning. 
Mr.  Morell  remained  Professor  of  Divinity  till  his  death, 
when  he  was  succeeded  by  Dr.  Jenkyn. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Burder,  formerly  tutor,  is  now  associa- 
ted, in  the  administration  of  the  Coward  trust,  with  the 
Rev.  Thomas  Binney,  J.  Piper,  Esq.,  and  the  Author  of 
this  volume. 


204  THE    THREE    COLLEGES. 

II. 

Domcrtou. 

The  origin  of  the  Congregational  Fund  Board  has 
been  alluded  to  in  the  Introduction.  It  was  established 
seven  years  after  the  Revolution,  and  the  object,  accord- 
ing to  the  statement  made  at  the  first  meeting,  was  "  to 
encourage  the  preaching  of  the  gospel  in  England  and 
Wales."  Not  only  did  the  excellent  persons  who  formed 
it  purpose  to  afford  assistance  to  poor  churches  and  min- 
isters, but  they  established  lectures  in  towns  where  the 
inhabitants  were  destitute  of  evangelical  instruction,  and 
encouraged  young  men  to  go  out  into  the  ministry  ;  of 
which  their  persuasions  addressed,  and  then  assistance 
offered,  to  young  Isaac  Watts,  in  1696,  is  a  notable  in- 
stance. The  efforts  of  this  band  of  worthies,  so  soon  as 
"  the  churches  had  rest,"  evince  that  the  Nonconformists 
of  that  early  period  were  not  totally  destitute  of  a  mis- 
sionary spirit,  though  the  sphere  of  their  exertions,  for 
very  obvious  reasons,  was  confined  to  their  own  country. 
The  education  of  young  men  for  the  ministry  forming 
an  essential  part  of  their  design,  they  placed  them  under 
the  care  of  accredited  ministers,  in  London  and  else- 
where.*    In   1743  they  had  eighteen  students  under 

*  The  following  illustrations  are  taken  from  the  minutes : — 
"6th  April,  ]f.9C— Students  first  sent  to  Mr.  Forbs :— 
"  13th. — Mr.  Lanc;ston  written  to  about  taking  students. 


THE    THREE    COLLEGES.  205 

their  patronage, — eight  with  Dr.  Doddridge,  six  with 
the  Rev.  E.  Davies,  and  four  with  Mr.  Eames.  The  next 
year,  though  continuing,  as  they  had  ever  done,  to  sup- 
port the  education  of  young  men  in  the  country,  they 
formally  appointed,  as  their  tutor  for  London,  Dr.  Zepha- 
niah  Marryatt,  a  man  of  such  astonishing  powers  of  ap- 
plication, that  he  is  reported  to  have  read  through  the 
whole  compass  of  Greek  and  Latin  literature,  including 
the  Fathers  and  the  chief  writers  of  the  middle  ages. 
All  the  students  to  he  educated  in  the  metropolis  were 
accordingly  sent  to  him,*  and  he  continued  to  sustain 
this  relation  to  the  Board  till  1754,  when  a  new  ar- 

"  27lh. — That  Mr.  Forbs  shall  have  sent  him,  in  consideration  of 
his  training  up  his  two  grandchildren  for  the  ministry,  £20. 

'•  Mr.  Paine,  Jan.,  of  Saffron  Walden,  appointed  to  receive  students. 
Also  Mr.  Howe. 

"  October. — That  Mr.  Mead,  Mr.  Nesbitt,  Dr.  Chauncey,  and  Mr. 
Yonge,  discourse  with  Mr.  Goodwin  about  educating  young  students. 

"  That  Mr.  Paine  have  thirty  guineas  for  erecting  three  studies  for 
three  students  with  him. 

"  That  Mr.  Forbs  be  allowed  the  same  for  Bowes,  King,  and 
Wilson/' 

Other  entries  for  allowances  appear. 

"Nov.  2.— That  Mr.  Mather,  Mr.  Taylor,  Mr.  Yonge,  Mr.  Larner, 
Mr.  Nesbitt,  and  Mr.  Boddington  be  appointed  to  consider  of  the 
disposal  of  students,  where  they  shall  be  educated,  being  such  as  are 
ordered  to  be  taken  care  of  by  the  messengers. 

"  That  Mr.  Taylor  be  desired  to  write  to  Mr.  Nicholson,  to  acquaint 
him  that,  if  he  and  his  son  be  not  free,  that  his  son  should  be  disposed 
on  as  this  Board  shall  think  fit,  they  shall  take  no  further  care  about 
him.'! 

*  From  this  period  the  Fund  Board  discontinued  sending  students 
to  Doddridge's  Academy,  now  under  Dr.  Ashworth,  at  Daventry. 
They  confined  themselves  to  Dr.  Marryatt's  Institution  in  London, 
the  west  of  England  Seminary,  and  one  in  Wales. 

s 


206  THE    THREE    COLLEGES. 

rangement  was  made,  for  the  correct  apprehension  of 
which,  we  must  here  pause  to  notice  another  society, 
which  had  for  some  years  been  engaged  in  similar 
labors. 

This  was  the  King's  Head  Society.  A  hundred  and 
twenty  years  ago,  Sweeting's  Alley — which  derives  its 
name  from  an  eminent  grocer  of  the  Ward  of  Bishops- 
gate  Without,  "  who  was  possessed  of  a  plentiful  estate 
at  the  east  end  of  Royal  Exchange" — was  a  very  differ- 
ent place  from  what  it  is  now.  Instead  of  displaying 
its  present  amplitude,  it  was  a  narrow  thoroughfare, 
lined  by  old-fashioned  houses,  with  beetling  brows,  which 
nodded  under  the  shadow  of  the  second  Royal  Ex- 
change— the  phoenix  that  sprung  from  the  ashes  of  the 
first — and  there  stood  a  dwelling  from  whose  front  pro- 
jected the  swinging  sign  of  the  King's  Head.**  The 
landlord  was  a  godly  man,  named  Edward  Munday,  and 
he,  with  several  others  like-minded,  about  the  beginning 
of  the  year  1730,  were  much  concerned  about  the  state 
of  evangelical  religion,  and  earnestly  panted  for  its  pure 
revival.  They  reverently  loved  the  old  theology  of 
Owen,  Charnock,  and  Bates,  and  did  not  at  all  relish 
the  new  notions  which  were  becoming  rife.  A  sym- 
pathy drew  them  together,  they  very  wisely  sought  to 
turn  it  to  practical  account ;  so  they  projected  a  weekly 
meeting  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Munday,  with  whose  sign, 

*  The  Society,  after  leaving  Sweeting's  Alley,  met  at  the  King's 
Head,  in  the  Poultry. 


THE    THREE    COLLEGES.  207 

forthwith,  this  religious  association  became  rather  oddly 
identified.  And  there  they  talked  things  over,  and 
prayed,  and  took  counsel  respecting  the  advancement 
of  Christ's  kingdom.  They  soon  began  to  act;  and 
one  thing  they  did  was  to  establish  a  monthly  lecture, 
of  which  those  delivered  at  Lime  Street,  and  afterwards 
published,  were  the  first-fruits.  But,  like  Mr.  Coward, 
they  especially  felt  the  importance  of  looking  to  the 
rising  ministry.  They  saw  that  one  great  evil  of  the 
times  was,  that  young  men  were  taken  into  academies 
before  their  views  were  at  all  formed,  or  their  piety 
ascertained.  They  felt  persuaded  that  persons  who 
aspired  to  the  ministry  of  the  gospel  ought  themselves 
to  believe,  feel,  love,  and  practise  its  saving  truths. 
They,  therefore,  determined  to  assist  in  the  preparation 
of  such — and  only  such.  The  King's  Head  Society 
thus  became  an  educational  society  for  ministerial  can- 
didates. They  kept  up  the  Monthly  Lecture,  and  did 
other  good  deeds  ;  but  the  care  of  hopeful  young  men 
was  their  special  work.  They  were  not  heedless  about 
talent — they  paid  due  regard  to  soundness  of  opinion — 
but  above  all  they  looked  for  decided  piety.  The  young- 
men  under  their  patronage,  from  1731  to  1735,  were 
sent  to  the  Rev.  Samuel  Parsons,  an  exemplary  and 
well-qualified  minister  at  Clerkenwell,  a  portion  of  which 
suburban  appendage  then  retained  much  of  its  rural 
character.  From  that  period  to  1740,  the  Society  sent 
their  youths  down   to  Deptford,  to  study  under  Dr. 


208  THE    THREE    COLLEGES. 

Abraham  Taylor,  who,  though  both  orthodox  and 
learned,  was  by  no  means  an  amiable  or  consistent  man. 
Afterwards  they  were  transferred  to  Stepney,  where  their 
studies  were  superintended  by  the  Rev.  Thomas  Hub- 
bard, the  able  and  beloved  pastor  of  the  venerable  church 
"  which  had  enjoyed  the  gifts  of  Greenhill  Mead,  and 
Mitchell."  This  new  arrangement  gave  the  Society 
great  joy;  but  their  excited  hopes  were  speedily  crushed 
by  the  untimely  death  of  good  Mr.  Hubbard.  Dr.  John 
Walker  had  been  appointed  his  assistant,  a  man  whose 
connection  with  the  King's  Head  Society,  as  one  of  their 
trustees,  long  continued,  and  whose  memory  was  ever 
fragrant  to  his  students. 

With  a  view  to  advance  the  spiritual  welfare  of  the 
young  men,  it  was  the  practice  of  the  Society  to  depute 
certain  of  their  number  to  converse  with  them  on  the 
state  of  their  minds,  as  it  regarded  experimental  godli- 
ness.* It  is  probable,  also,  that  subscription  to  articles 
of  faith,  expressing  the  views  contained  in  the  Lime 
Street  Lectures,  was  exacted  from  both  members  and 
students,  at  the  earliest  period  of  the  history  of  the  So- 
ciety. These  articles  were  printed  in  1732  ;  and  it  ap- 
pears, from  the  records  preserved,  which  go  back  no 

*  January  17,  1737. — '-Pursuant  to  the  vote  of  last  Thursday  Mr. 
Hitchin  and  Mr.  Nathaniel  Field  reported  that  they,  with  others  de- 
puted by  the  Society,  had  conversed  with  the  young  men  under  Dr. 
Taylor's  care. — that  they  gave  a  very  satisfactory  account  of  them- 
Belves,  and  they  had  comfortable  hopes  that  they  made  progress  iii  ex- 
perimental religion." 


THE    THREE    COLLEGES.  209 

further  than  1737,  that  such  subscription  was  then  re- 
quired. The  Fund  Board  received  only  such  students  as 
possessed  a  competent  classical  education,  previous  to 
their  entrance  on  theology,  which  latter  course  extended 
over  four  years.  But  the  new  society,  if  satisfied  with 
regard  to  the  religious  character  of  the  candidate,  took 
him  with  inferior  attainments,  and  allowed  him  support 
through  a  longer  term — extending  it  as  tar  as  six  years. 
On  the  death  of  the  Rev.  J.  Hubbard,  in  1743,  they  re- 
quested Dr.  Marryatt  to  attend  to  the  tuition  of  the 
young  men  at  Stepney,  a  duty  which,  on  account  of  his 
age,  he  informed  them  he  could  undertake  only  for  the 
present.  With  him  Mr.  Walker,  already  the  assistant 
tutor,  was  associated. 

Among  the  minor  arehreolotfical  celebrities  of  London 
was  Plasterers'  Hall,  in  Addle  Street.  It  early  passed 
out  of  the  hands  of  the  Pinners,  on  whom  Stowe  could 
not  help  making  the  pun,  that  "  they  were  not  worth  a 
pin,"  and  came  into  the  possession  of  the  Plasterers, 
who,  like  some  other  companies,  parted  with  their  civic 
gathering-place,  that  it  might  be  transformed  into  a 
Dissenting  meeting-house.  The  old  building,  which  had 
for  a  while  been  vacant,  was  selected  in  1744,  as  a  lec- 
ture-room for  Dr.  Marryatt  and  Mr.  Walker,  where, 
under  their  superintendence,  the  students  prosecuted 
their  course  of  ministerial  preparation,  residing,  however, 
not  with  their  tutors,  but  in  the  houses  of  worthy  Dis- 
senting citizens,  hard  by. 


210  THE    THREE    COLLEGES. 

Both  the  Fund  Board  and  the  King's  Head  Society 
had  now  come  to  send  their  students  to  the  same  parties, 
but  no  formal  union  took  place  between  them  till  the 
year  1754.  At  first,  the  latter  did  not  find  favor  in  the 
sight  of  the  former ;  but  when  they  saw  the  benefits  re- 
sulting from  the  religious  terms  of  admission  to  the 
academy,  and  from  the  careful  spiritual  oversight  after- 
wards maintained,  their  jealousy  subsided,  and  they 
were  prepared  to  co-operate  with  their  former  rivals. 
At  the  date  last-mentioned,  a  joint  committee  was 
formed,  to  take  into  their  most  solemn  consideration  such 
things  as  might  conduce  to  the  flourishing  state  of  the 
Academy  in  London,  and  promote  the  interests  of  re- 
ligion between  the  two  bodies.  But  Dr.  Marryatt  was 
now  very  old,  and  the  grasshopper  had  become  a  burden. 
He  was,  moreover,  seriously  ill,  and  to  the  anxious  in- 
quiries made  respecting  his  health,  he  returned  the 
touching  answer,  that  "  he  deemed  himself  a  dying  man, 
and  had  no  expectation  of  ever  returning  to  his  work  as 
a  tutor."  The  joint  committee,  availing  themselves  of 
this  occasion,  determined  to  increase  their  staff  of  in- 
structors ;  and,  accordingly,  they  selected  the  Rev.  John 
Conder,  for  the  theological  department,  and  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Gibbons,  in  connection  with  Mr.  Walker,  for  the 
other  branches  of  tuition.  A  plan  was  then  arranged, 
which  existed  through  many  years,  whereby  the  Fund 
Board,  according  to  its  original  constitution,  supported 
only  those  who  were  engaged  in  theological  studies, 


THE    THREE    COLLEGES.  211 

while  the  King's  Head  Society  took  under  their  patron- 
age the  youths  who  were  occupied  in  receiving  prepara- 
tory tuition  in  classical  and  general  learning. 

At  this  period  of  union,  when  Mr.  (afterwards  Dr.) 
Conder  was  appointed,  premises  were  taken  at  Mile 
End,  opposite  Bancroft's  Almshouses ;  and  this  was 
done,  as  it  plainly  appears  from  the  minutes  of  the  So- 
ciety, not  by  tutors,  but  by  the  committee  themselves  : 
so  that  this  may  be  regarded  as  the  era  when  the  entire 
management  of  the  Academy  was  taken  into  their  hands. 

From  the  beginning,  the  orthodoxy  of  the  ministers 
employed  as  tutors,  both  by  the  Board  and  the  Society, 
was  beyond  suspicion ;  and  while  some  were  very  emi- 
nent for  endowments  both  natural  and  acquired,  none 
were  defective  in  these  respects.  The  influence  of  the 
good  men  who  met  at  the  King's  Head,  no  doubt,  ten- 
ded greatly  to  raise  the  tone  of  evangelical  feeling  in  the 
Academy ;  nor  can  we  hesitate  to  regard  them  as  hav- 
ing introduced  a  practical  reform,  of  vital  importance  to 
the  interest  of  the  Church  of  Christ.  Upon  the  union 
of  the  two  bodies,  increased  prosperity  appears  to  have 
attended  the  removal  of  the  seminary  to  Mile  End,  and 
the  distribution  of  educational  labor  among  three  pro- 
fessors. Dr.  Walker  died  in  1770,  and  at  the  same  time 
Dr.  Conder's  health  began  to  fail  from  advancing  age. 
He  therefore  retired  from  the  anxieties  of  the  resident 
tutorship,  and  the  Rev.  Dr.  Fisher,  of  Warminster,  was 
invited  to  succeed  him.     The  premises  at  Homerton  had 


212  THE    THREE    COLLEGES. 

been  purchased  two  years  before.  Thither  the  Academy- 
was  removed.  There  Dr.  Fisher  lived,  and  Dr.  Conder, 
as  for  as  his  strength  would  admit,  went  on  to  labor ; 
but  his  useful  and  honorable  career  terminated  in  1781, 
when  Dr.  Fisher  became  Theological  Professor,  and  filled 
that  office  till  the  year  1803.  Dr.  Benjamin  Davies  be- 
came classical  and  resident  tutor  in  1*781,  and  Dr.  Gib- 
bous was  succeeded  by  Dr.  Mayo,  in  1*785.*  Upon  the 
death  of  the  latter,  in  1793,  the  vacancy  was  not  filled 
up.  Dr.  Davies  was  followed  by  the  Rev.  John  Fell,  in 
the  year  1787.  They  remained  united  in  office  nine 
years,  and  like  their  predecessors  were  men  of  high 
character ;  but  they  were  unlike  in  temper  and  talent, 
Dr.  Fisher  being  extremely  grave,  regular,  and  punctil- 
ious, while  Mr.  Fell  was  "  a  person  of  great  vivacity,  veiy 
ingenious,  and  of  unusually  quick  and  irritable  tempera- 
ment."f  From  the.  keenness  of  his  susceptibilities  and 
other  circumstances,  his  term  of  office  was  by  no  means 
peaceful  and  happy;  and  having  retired  in  1796,  he 
died  the  following  year.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Berry  was  for 
four  years  classical  tutor,  and  upon  his  resignation  there 
became  connected  with  the   seminary  that  illustrious 

*  There  are  a  few  pages  of  Dr.  Gibbons'  Diary  in  the  Red  Cross 
street  Library,  from  which  I  should  judge  he  was  a  very  spiritually- 
minded  man. 

t  Watford' s  Autobiography,  p.  158.  Mr.  Walford  was  a  student 
at  Homerton  at  the  time.  My  revered  friend,  whose  loss  I  shall  ever 
lament,  gives  no  very  flattering  view  of  the  literary  advantages  then 
enjoyed  at  Homerton.  Great  improvements  were  afterwards  made, 
to  which  he  largely  contributed. 


THE    THREE    COLLEGES.  213 

scholar,  whose  extensive  fame  will  ever  shed  a  halo 
round  the  long,  prosperous,  and  happy  years  of  office  he 
spent  at  Homerton — the  Rev.  Dr.  John  Pye  Smith. 
He  was  associated  with  Dr.  Fisher  till  his  death,  taking 
charge  of  the  classical  department.  In  that  position  he 
continued,  while  the  Rev.  James  Knight  filled  the  chair 
of  Divinity  till  1805.  For  one  year,  with  the  assistance 
of  Mr.  Alfred  Bishop,  a  senior  student,  he  conducted  the 
entire  business  of  the  seminary.  In  1806  he  was  elect- 
ed theological  professor,  a  station  which  he  filled  and 
adorned  till  the  Institution  was  merged  in  New  College. 
During  that  period  he  had  several  colleagues.  From 
1806  till  1813,  the  duties  of  classical  tutor  were  dili- 
gently discharged,  though  much  interrupted  through 
affliction,  by  the  Rev.  Thomas  Hill.  The  Rev.  William 
Walford  was  his  successor,  to  whose  distinguished  talent, 
learning,  and  piety,  the  writer  of  these  lines  has  attempt- 
ed elsewhere  to  pay  some  few  words  of  honor,  gratitude, 
and  love.*  His  sad  sorrows  compelled  him  to  retire  in 
1830,  after  which  period  the  Rev.  D.  G.  Bishop,  the 
Rev.  H.  L.  Berry,  and  that  distinguished  scholar.  Dr. 
William  Smith,  successively  occupied  the  office  of  Greek 
and  Latin  Professor. 

Some  changes  took  place  from  time  to  time  in  the 
form  of  management.  On  several  occasions  distinct 
committees  were  appointed  by  the  Fund  Board  and  the 

*  Mr.  Walford  was  very  active  in  promoting  the  erection  of  the 
new  building  at  Homerton. 


214  THE    THREE    COLLEGES. 

King's  Head  Society.  In  1808  a  visiting  committee 
was  formed,  distinct  from  the  managing  committee. 
This  created  inconvenience.  In  1824  the  two  commit- 
tees were  merged  in  one.  A  more  important  alteration 
took  place  in  1817,  when  subscription  to  the  Articles 
was  abolished.  It  had  never  been  required  from  the 
Fund  Board  students,  but  only  from  the  King's  Head 
students.  The  persons  who  then  took  counsel  together, 
felt  the  mischief  of  the  invidious  distinction,  and,  more- 
over, perceived  that  the  orthodoxy  of  the  institution  had 
not  been  secured  by  the  process  of  subscribing  articles, 
but  by  the  care  which  had  been  taken  as  to  the  personal 
piety  of  the  young  men.  The  step  they  took  was  amply 
justified  by  subsequent  experience,  for  never  were  the 
sentiments  of  persons  educated  at  Homerton  more  truly 
evangelical  than  subsequently  to  the  abolition  of  the 
verbal  test. 


III. 
fligljburn. 


The  last  Institution  to  be  noticed  commenced  in  17*78. 
It  originated  with  a  society  called  the  Evangelical  So- 
ciety, not  unlike  that  which,  about  fifty  years  before, 
beo-an  at  the  Kind's  Head.  The  members  were  warm- 
hearted  men  of  the  Establishment,  as  well  as  Dissenters, 
who  had  caught  the  fire  of  a  holy  zeal  under  Whitfield's 


THE    THREE    COLLEGES.  215 

awakening  ministry.  They  longed  to  diffuse  evangeli- 
cal religion,  and  began  their  labors  by  supporting  itiner- 
ant ministrations.  But  they  soon  saw  that  a  measure 
of  preparation  was  needful,  even  for  the  humblest  em- 
ployment in  the  Christian  churches,  and  therefore  they 
agreed  together  to  establish  an  Academy.  Mr.  Benja- 
min Mills  was  the  first  secretary.  Mr.  Thorn;  -  Wilson, 
the  first  treasurer.  The  literary  culture  of  the  students 
was  not  with  these  worthy  persons  by  any  means  a 
leading  object  of  regard.  "  We  seek  to  make  preachers  " 
said  they,  u  not  scholars."  Hence,  very  unpretending 
was  the  curriculum,  described  by  the  Rev.  George  Bur- 
der.  "  They  are  to  be  instructed  in  English  Grammar, 
and  in  a  course  of  Divinity,  and  to  be  assisted  in  under- 
standing some  of  the  more  difficult  parts  of  Scripture, 
and  in  the  best  methods  of  studying  for  the  pulpit." 
While  we  look  at  such  a  very  limited  course  of  educa- 
tion, we  should  remember  that  the  founders  knew  there 
were  other  institutions  where  learning  was  cultivated ; 
and  they  only  meant  their  little  bark,  with  a  few  hard 
rowers,  to  run  beside  gallant  vessels  more  ably  manned.'* 
The  Ptev.  Messrs  Barber  and  Brewer  were  first  appointed 
the  instructors  of  the  young  men,  and  afterwards  Mr. 
Kello  was  added.  Lectures  were  given  on  three  days 
of  the  week ;  only  candidates  resident  in  London  were 
admitted ;  "  and  in  cases  which  rendered  it  necessary 

*  It  was  intended  chiefly  to  supply  the  urgent  spiritual  necessities 
of  the  villages,  and  other  destitute  places  in  the  country. 


216  THE    THREE    COLLEGES. 

the  students  were  supported  partly  by  the  Society,  and 
partly  by  their  own  occupation.  '  Who  hath  despised 
the  day  of  small  things  V — Its  beginning-  was  small,  its 
latter  end  has  greatly  increased."  Something  more  exr 
tensive  and  permanent  was  soon  adopted.  The  Society 
took  Grove  House,  Mile  End,  and  invited  Dr.  Adding- 
ton,  one  of  Doddridge's  students,  a  laborious  and  holy 
man,  to  be  the  resident  tutor.  He  came,  and  worked 
successfully,  till  his  health  broke  down  under  his  intense 
exertions.  In  1791,  they  purchased  the  premises  at 
Hoxton,  recently  vacated  by  Drs.  Savage,  Kippis,  and 
Rees,  who  had  been  supported,  as  the  reader  will  remem- 
ber, by  the  Coward  trustees.  The  Rev.  Robert  Simp- 
son, D.D.,  was  chosen  in  1791  to  succeed  Dr.  Adding- 
ton,  and  zealously  did  he  toil,  for  many  years,  to  train 
up  an  earnest  race  of  ministers  ;  inspiring  many  a  youth, 
who  sat  at  his  feet,  with  his  own  bold  and  burning 
energy.  "  When  he  entered  on  his  office,  he  had  but 
three  young  men  under  his  charge.  In  1794,  there 
were  thirteen.  In  1798,  the  numbers  had  increased 
to  twenty;  in  1801,  to  twenty-live;  and  in  1803,  to 
thirty. 

"  On  the  death  of  Thomas  Wilson,  Esq.,  the  treasurer, 
which  occurred  in  March,  1 794,  his  son,  the  late  Thomas 
Wilson,  was  chosen  to  succeed  him  in  his  office,  who 
applied  himself  with  singular  devotedness  to  the  busi- 
ness of  the  Academy,  laboring  incessantly  to  promote 
its  interests.     He  gave  his  sanction  and  support  to  other 


THE    THREE    COLLEGES.  21 7 

institutions  which  had  for  their  object  the  glory  of  God 

and  the  salvation  of  souls;  but  he  lived  for  this.  'I  de- 
termined,' he  said,  '  to  devote  myself  to  its  duties ;  and 
to  do  this  more  effectually,  I  gave  up  my  connection 
with  business  in  the  year  1798.'  On  this  determina- 
tion he  acted  through  his  whole  life,  with  unabated  ar- 
dor and  untiring  zeal.  He  rilled  the  office  of  treasurer 
to  his  death,  a  period  of  nearly  fifty  years.  To  his 
incessant  labor,  his  unwearied  watchfulness,  and  his 
munificent  liberality,  the  Institution  owes  much  of  the 
favor  it  found  with  the  public,  and  the  blessing  it  proved 
to  the  churches." 

As  the  number  increased,  and  the  views  of  the  Society 
supporting  the  Institution  enlarged,  a  classical  tutorship 
was  added,  which  was  first  filled  by  the  Rev.  G.  Col- 
lison,  then  by  the  Rev.  J.  Atkinson,  and,  subsequently, 
by  the  Revs.  John  Hooper,  Dr.  Halley,  and  Dr.  William 
Smith.  In  1807,  the  Rev.  II.  F.  Burder  was  associated 
with  Dr.  Simpson  and  Mr.  Hooper,  as  professor  of  men- 
tal science  and  English  literature  ;  and  continued,  most 
advantageously  to  the  students,  and  honorably  to  him- 
self, in  the  discharge  of  such  duties  till  the  year  1830. 
Dr.  Simpson  was  succeeded  in  the  chair  of  Divinity  by 
Dr.  Harris.  "  Under  the  presidency  of  this  excellent 
man,  the  premises  at  Hoxton,  after  several  enlargements, 
and  such  improvements  as  could  be  effected,  being  still 
found  inadequate  for  the  purposes  of  the  Institution,  it 
was  determined,  in  the  year  182-1,  to  seek  a  more  suita- 
T 


218  THE    THREE    COLLEGES. 

ble  locality,  and  to  erect  a  more  commodious  building. 
Highbury  was  selected,  and  the  new  building  was 
opened  for  the  reception  of  students  in  September,  1826. 
To  Mr.  Wilson's  indefatigable  labors  may  be  mainly 
attributed  the  success  of  the  undertaking.  How  much 
his  heart  was  set  on  the  work,  and  how  elated  he  was, 
when  he  anticipated  the  increase  of  the  Redeemer's 
kingdom  that  would  thereby  be  effected,  may  be  seen 
from  a  letter,  bearing  date  March,  182V,  in  which  he 
says : — '  We  expect  to  send  out  ten  ministers  annually  ; 
and  will  not  a  hundred  ministers,  in  ten  years,  do  much 
for  the  increase  of  Christ's  kingdom  ?' " 

Dr.  Harris  died  in  1830,  and  was  succeeded  by  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Henderson,  who  still  lives  to  enjoy  the  high 
reputation  which  throughout  Europe  he  has  earned  as  a 
Christian  and  a  scholar.  Under  such  men  as  the  So- 
ciety employed,  and  with  the  views  they  constantly 
maintained,  the  Seminary  flourished  as  a  nursery  for 
simple,  faithful,  evangelical  preachers.  The  Author  loves 
his  Alma  Mater,  and  rejoices  in  the  many  honored 
names  with  which,  in  the  course  of  fifty  years,  it  has  be- 
come associated.'* 

We  have  now  reached  the  meeting  point  of  the  three 
colleges.     For  a  long  time  there  had  been  a  conviction, 

*  In  the  year  1822,  no  fewer  than  seventy-one  new  congregations 
in  different  parts  of  the  country  had  been  originated  by  ministers  edu- 
cated at  Hoxton.    The  number  has  much  increased  since  then. 


THE    THREE    COLLEGES.  219 

extensively  entertained,  that  an  union  of  this  kind  was 
very  expedient  and  desirable.  In  the  year  1849,  after 
much  anxious  deliberation  and  prayer,  on  the  part  of 
those  representing  the  three  institutions,  this  object  was 
accomplished  in  perfect  consistency  with  existing  trusts. 
Into  the  history  of  the  proceedings  we  cannot  enter. 
The  result  was  the  establishment  of  New  College,  on  the 
plan  of  the  students,  who  are  both  ministerial  and  lay, 
being  non-resident.  The  professors  chosen  were  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Harris,  principal,  the  Rev.  J.  H.  Godwin,  P. 
Smith,  F.  Jenner,  and  W.  Smith,  Esq.,  LL.D.,  and  E. 
Lankaster,  Esq.,  M.D.,  F.R.S. ;  and  under  such  men  it  is 
reasonably  hoped  that,  with  the  Divine  blessing,  the 
comprehensive  institution  will  prosper.  The  first  stone 
of  the  new  building  in  St.  John's  AVood  was  laid  in 
May,  1850,  by  R.  Mills,  Esq.,  and  the  elegant  edifice 
was  opened  for  the  reception  of  the  students  in  the  month 
of  October  last. 

The  Fund  Board,  which  was  the  elder  parent  of 
Homerton  College,  and  the  Coward  trustees,  a  hundred 
years  ago,  united  in  the  support  of  Dr.  Doddridge's 
academy,  which  embraced  lay  pupils.  It  is  also  re- 
markable that,  in  1744,  negotiations  took  place  for  com- 
bining both  the  Board  and  the  Trustees  in  the  main- 
tenance of  Dr.  Marryatt's  institution  in  London,  whose 
students  were  non-resident.  In  the  recent  union,  then, 
two  bodies,  which  had  before  touched  each  other,  have, 


220  THE    THREE    COLLEGES. 

upon  their  original  plan,  become,  in  their  educational 
efforts,  again  associated,  only  more  intimately.  The 
last,  hut  not  least,  of  the  tria  juncta  in  uno  was  not  in 
existence  at  that  period,  but  some  years  ago  the  idea 
was  entertained  of  uniting  Homerton  and  Highbury. 
Long  may  all  three  remain  entwined  in  beauty  and 
strength,  verifying  the  maxim,  "  A  threefold  cord  is  not 
quickly  broken." 

The  patriarchs  attached  great  importance  and  value 
to  their  wells,  because  they  supplied  their  flocks  with 
water.  "And  Isaac  digged  again  the  wells  of  water 
which  they  had  digged  in  the  days  of  Abraham  his 
father."  What  these  wells  were  to  the  patriarchs  our 
colleges  are  to  us, — the  fountains  from  which  we  are  to 
look  for  a  ministry  which  shall  be  as  streams  of  intelli- 
gence and  piety,  for  the  purification  and  refreshment  of 
our  churches.  Our  fathers  digged  these,  wells ;  let  us 
preserve  them,  and  build  them  up,  and  keep  them  pure. 
Colleges  do  not  form  the  most  conspicuous  and  popular 
objects  of  regard  among  us.  But  this  fact  speaks  little 
for  our  prudence  and  far-sightedness*.  Missions,  in  their 
various  branches,  and  other  holy  plans  of  usefulness, 
strike  the  public  mind  as  more  brilliant  things  than 
quiet,  and  retired  seminaries  for  the  education  of  the 
ministry, — but  the  former  depend  upon  the  latter.  In 
short,  all  that  exists  among  us  in  the  way  of  spiritual 
missionary  action,  so  far  as  it  depends  on  the  ministry, 


THE    THREE    COLLEGES.  221 

is  related  to  collegiate  institutions,  as  the  deep-laid  and 
hidden  roots  out  of  which  it  grows.  A  wise  generation 
would  look  to  them  as  the  first  objects  to  be  supported — 
to  be  watched  over — to  be  prayed  for.  If  the  child  be 
father  to  the  man,  surely  the  student  is  father  to  the 
minister ;  and,  therefore,  in  securing  an  efficient  educa- 
tion for  students,  Congregational  churches  are  preparing 
for  an  efficient  race  of  ministers. 

On  the  6th  of  September,  1620,  there  lay  in  Plymouth 
Harbor  a  little  vessel  which  has  since  acquired  a  world- 
known  fame.  Not  freighted  with  this  world's  wealth, 
but  with  what  is  incomparably  richer, — true,  noble, 
spiritual,  heroic  men,  bent  on  the  accomplishment  of  a 
great  enterprise.  It  sailed  out,  unnoticed  and  uncared 
for,  on  its  far-bound  voyage  across  the  Atlantic,  save  by 
the  few  despised  Puritans  who  sympathized  with  these 
brethren,  and  who  "  kindly  entertained  and  courteously 
used  them  during  their  brief  sojourn."  In  that  ship 
were  the  germs,  the  foundation-stones,  of  great  colonies 
that  have  since  risen  to  a  height,  and  breadth,  and  gran- 
deur, at  which  the  world  marvels.  That  vessel  was  an 
instrument  of  preparation  for  wonderful  results.  What 
the  "  Mayflower"  was  to  America  our  colleges  are  to  our 
country  and  the  world.  However  slighted,  they  bear  a 
freightage  of  souls  destined  to  build  or  repair  those  re- 
ligious communities,  which  will  prove  so  many  spiritual 
colonies  in  the  midst  of  the  world.     If  our  colleges  con- 


222  THE    THREE    COLLEGES. 

tain  and  send  forth  men  right-minded,  sound-hearted, 
and  well-trained,  they  will  prove  to  evangelical  Christen- 
dom boons  of  matchless  value, — argosies  laden  with  en- 
during wealth,  to  be  remembered,  and  celebrated,  and 
held  in  honor  bv  the  remotest  generations. 


THE    END. 


RELIGIOUS     PROGRESS; 

DISCOURSES   ON   THE   DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE 
CHRISTIAN   CHARACTER. 

BY   WILLIAM   R.  WILLIAMS,  D.  D. 
12/no.,  Cloth;  price,  85  Cents. 


From  II.  J.  Ripl  y,  D.  D.,  Prof  of  Sacred  Rhetoric,  $c,  Norton  Theol.  7/irt. 

Strong  conceptions,  suggested  by  earnest  conviction,  arrest  the  reader's 
attention  in  this  volume,  no  loss  than  the  author's  characteristic  beamy 
of  thought  and  language.  Historical  and  other  illustrations  of  senti- 
ments are  apt  and  abundant  ;  every  page  almost  betraying  the  wide  com- 
prehension of  knowledge  which  distinguishes  the  author.  These  Dis- 
courses cannot  fail  to  make  the  heart  better,  while  they  inform  the  under- 
standing and  gratify  a  cultivated  taste. 

"  This  book  is  a  rare  phenomenon  in  these  days.  It  is  a  rich  exposition 
of  Scripture,  with  a  fund  of  practical,  religious  wisdom,  conveyed  in  a 
style  so  strong  and  so  massive,  as  to  remind  one  of  the  English  writers 
of  two  centuries  ago;  and  yet  it  abounds  in  fresli  illustrations  drawn 
from  every  —  even  the  latest  opened  —  field  cf  science  and  of  literature." 
—  Methodist  Quarterly. 

"  His  power  of  apt  and  forcible  illustration  is  almost  without  a  parallel 
among  recent  writers.  The  mute  page  springs  into  life  beneath  the  magic 
of  his'radiant  imagination.  But  this  is  never  at  the  expense  of  solidity  of 
thought  or  strength  of  argument.  It  is  seldom  indeed  that  a  mind  of  so 
much  poeticaj  invention  yields  such  a  willing  homage  to  the  logical  ele- 
ment. He  employs  his  brilliant  fancies  for  the  elucidation  and  ornament 
of  truth,  but  never  for  its  discovery."  —  Harpers'1  .Monthly  Miscellany. 

"  With  warm  and  glowing  language,  Dr.  Williams  exhibits  and  en- 
forces this  truth,  every  page  radiant  with  'thoughts  that  bum,'  and  leave 
their  indelible  impression  upon  the  candid  and  intelligent  mind."  —  JV. 
Y.  Com.  Advertiser. 

u  The  strength  and  compactness  of  argumentation,  the  correctness  and 
beauty  of  style,  and  the  importance  of  the  animating  idea  of  the  dis- 
courses, are  worthy  of  the  high  reputation  of  Dr.  Williams,  and  place 
them  among  the  most  finished  homiletic  productions  of  the  day.  We 
could  wish  their  judicious  thoughts  and  animated  periods  might  secure 
the  study  of  every  Christian." — J\T.  Y.  Evangelist. 

"This  work  is  from  the  pen  of  one  of  the  brightest  lights  of  the 
American  pulpit.  We  scarcely  know  of  any  living  writer  who  has  a 
finer  command  of  powerful  thought  and  glowing,  impressive  language, 
than  he.  The  present  volume  will  advance,  if  possible,  the  reputation 
which  his  previous  works  have  acquired  for  him."  —  Albany  Ecening 
Atlas. 

"Dr.  Williams  has  no  superior  among  American  divines,  in  profound 
and  exact  learning,  and  brilliancy  of  style.  He  seems  familiar  with  the 
literature  of  the  world,  and  lays  his  vast  resources  under  contribution  to 
illustrate  and  adorn  every  theme  which  he  investigates.  Wc  wi<h  the 
volume  could  be  placed  in  every  religious  family  in  the  country  "  — 
Phila.  Chr.  Chronicle. 

We  venture  to  predict  that  this  work  will  fake  its  place  at  once  STiong 
the  classics  of  American  literature."  —  JV.  Y.  Recorder. 

"  These  sermons  are  certainly  able  and  eloquent  productions  ;  a 
valuable  contribution  to  those  efforts  which  are  making,  in  various  di- 
rections, to  prevent  the  self-sufficiency  of  the  nineteenth  century  from 
forgetting  its  allegiance  to  God  and  his  Christ,  and  to  wake  up  the  tru* 
murch  to  the  duty,  even  as  it  has  the  power,  to  extend  over  the  world 
its  spiritual  government,"  — A*.  Y.  Chr.  Inquirer. 


LIFE  AND  CORRESPONDENCE  OF  JOHN  FOSTER, 

AUTHOB    OF    "  DE-'ISIOtf    OF    CHARACTER,"    "  ESSAYS,"    &C 

BY    J.     E.     RYLAND. 

With  Notices  of  Mr.  Foster  as  a  Preacher  and  a  Companion,  by 

John  Sheparf,  author  of  "  Thoughts  on  Devotion."  &c 

Two  Vols,  in  one.    714  pp.,  12mo,  cloth,  $1,25 


In  simplicity  of  language,  in  majesty  of  conception,  in  the  eloquence 
cf  that  conciseness  which  conveys  in  a  short  sentence  more  meaning  than 
«he  mind  dares  at  once  admit,  his  writings  are  unmatched."  —  JYortk 
British  Review. 

"  It  is  with  no  ordinary  expectations  and  gratification  and  delight  t'nst 
we  have  taken  up  the  Biography  and  Correspondence  of  the  author  of  tho 
'  Essays  on  Decision  of  Character,'  &c.  The  memoir  of  such  a  man  ae 
John  Foster  must,  of  necessity,  possess  very  peculiar  attractions. 

"  We  are  glad  to  find  ourselves  in  possession  of  so  much  additional 
matter  from  the  well-nigh  inspired  pen  of  this  great  master  in  English 
composition." —  Christian  Review. 

"  A  book  rich  in  every  way  —  in  good  sense,  vivacity,  suggesliveness, 
liberality,  and  piety."  —  Mirror. 

"  The  letters  which  principally  compose  this  volume  bear  stronslv  the 
impress  of  his  own  original  mind,  and  are  often  characterized  by  a  depth 
and  power  of  thought  rarely  met  with  even  in  professedly  elaborate  dis- 
quisitions." —  Albany  Argus. 

"  This  work,  from  the  character  of  its  subject,  must  constitute  the 
choice  book  of  the  season,  in  the  department  of  correspondence  and 
biography.  We  all  wish  to  know  what  he  was  as  a  friend,  a  husband  a 
father,  and  as  a  practical  exponent  of  what  is  enshrined  in  the  immortal 
productions  of  his  pen.  All  who  appreciate  the  subject  of  which  these 
volumes  treat  will  rejoice  in  the  opportunity  of  aduing  this  treasure  to 
their  libraries."—  Watchman  4-  Reflector. 

11  John  Foster  was  one  of  the  strongest  writers  of  his  age." —  Christian 
Register. 

"  In  this  large  volume,  of  over  700  pages,  the  publishers  have  pre 
sented  the  reading  public  with  the  memoir  and  correspondence  of  one  of 
Ihe  most  profound  and  eloquent  writers  of  the  age.  In  vigor  and  majesty 
of  conception  and  thought,  and  in  simplicity  of  language,  the  writings  of 
John  Foster  are  unrivalled.  It  is  almost  superfluous  to  speak  of  their 
merits  —  for  they  have  been  read  and  appreciated  extensively  on  both 
sides  of  the  Atlantic.  We  wish  to  see  a  great  man  at  home  — and  in  the 
biography  and  letters  comprised  in  the  volume  before  us,  this  rational 
curiosity  is  gratified.  The  reader  is  introduced  to  the  intellectual  giant 
in  the  relations  am/ every-day  scenes  of  private  life." —  Christian  Observer, 

"Though  a  great,  Mr.  Foster  was  not  a  voluminous,  writer.  Few  men 
ever  wrote  with  more  care  or  more  thoroughly  elaborated  their  wcrke 
than  he." —  Western  Literary  Messenger. 

"  John  Foster  was  an  extraordinary  man.  The  life  and  correspondence 
of  one  who  possessed  the  masterly  powers  of  Mr.  Foster  must  have  mv.cn 
in  them  to  instruct  and  improve  all  who  are  fortunate  enough  to  have  thfl 
volume  that  embraces  them.  —  Christian  Witness. 

"John  Foster  was  one  of  the  greatest  thinkers,  and  most  vigorous  ani 
Impressive  writers  of  the  present  day.  We  are  glad  to  see  this  worfe 
placed  in  the  reach  of  all,  at  a  very  reasonable  price".'  —  Christian.  Herald 


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